Outside Huai'an City, there is a sea of ​​corpses and blood, and the smoke of gunpowder fills the entire suburbs.

In a mansion in the city, there are stone, flowers and trees in the courtyard, winding paths and long corridors. The more wonderful thing is that it is a shallow pond with a flat water surface like a mirror, clear to crystal clear.

When I looked into the pond carefully, there was a paved white marble under the water, with vivid statues engraved on it. There was a singing girl and a dancer, and there was also a scene in the south of the Yangtze River. The carvings were so fine that even the five-finger-sized five-finger picking flowers were clearly carved. The clothes were flying in the sky, the eyebrows and eyes were clear, and some places were deliberately blurred, which made the beautiful patterns more interesting.

There is a pavilion with flying eaves in the center of the pool, with heavy lotus gauze hanging from all sides. There are three middle-aged men in brocade clothes sitting opposite each other drinking tea.

There are such wealthy people in Huai'an, almost all of them are salt merchants, and the pavilion is the leader of salt merchants in Lianghuai. Cheng Liangjin, Huang Tingyun, Ma Chulu, each of them has a wealth of less than tens of millions of taels of silver. Although there are only three people, they control almost all the salt transport transport of Lianghuai.

Cheng Liangru was dressed in white, handsome and handsome, not like a businessman, but rather like a handsome literati. If it weren't for a small braid on his head, his appearance would be enough to make the girl who had seen him love spring. Although Cheng Liangru was young, his father Cheng Zhiqiu had already communicated with the pseudo-Qing court. There were many old friends of the Cheng family in the Qing Dynasty. He took a sip of the best Huangjian tea and sighed: "The world's general trend is already

It is clear that the Qing Dynasty was the will of the Ming Dynasty. Who knew that a Hou Xuanyan suddenly appeared. This kid made trouble in Jiangnan, but he had already reached Huai'an. The method of Hou Xuanyan is not needed to be repeated by my nephew. The Huang Jianling and his son in Yangzhou are the best examples. Both uncles are elders of my nephew. This is the critical moment for our salt merchants in Huaihe. I wonder if you have only a few words of golden and good words to save us from this difficulty?”

Huang Tingyun doesn't look that good as a rich businessman. He has a short and fat figure. His white and fat cheeks look very cute. People who are familiar with him dare not think so. This person is the most scheming and vicious. The small businessman who offended him often gets ruined by him. His family is worse than death. There was a shopkeeper who was in charge of a shop for him, and he made a lot of money because of his business. Later, the shopkeeper saved some money, so it was accurate.

He set up his own business and didn't want to use his talents to work for others. If an ordinary boss would definitely be together and would still express his feelings. However, Huang Tingyun secretly used money, used despicable means to find a thug to find a business to beat the shopkeeper half to death, and in front of him, insulting the shopkeeper's wife and daughter. Generally, people who have reached his status would rely on their own status and would not do such a despicable thing. But Huang Tingyun was like an alternative, and this person had no bottom line.

Huang Tingyun lowered his head and laughed, saying, "Xiao Cheng doesn't have to be too humble. Our salt merchants from both Huaihei are the leader of the Cheng family. What do you think you will do if Lao Ma and I will do." As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Shulu nodded with a smile.

Except for three people, there were no other people in the garden. There were also slaves on the outside, protecting them inside. However, Cheng Liangjin lowered his voice and said softly: "We are all profit-seeking businessmen. Whether it is Ming or Qing, there is no need to tie ourselves to one of them. The horses are tied to pillars, so they can naturally be fed by people, but they have also lost the large grassland outside."

Ma and Huang looked at each other, Huang Tingyun bowed slightly and asked in a low voice: "What does the nephew mean?"

Cheng Liang raised his eyebrows and said, "Since Hou Xuanyan is an anomaly, the best way is to kill him, otherwise the money we invest in the man in the world will be ruined. But now he is in the limelight, with the momentum of Zhu Yuanzhang, a mud-legged man. If he succeeds by chance, we cannot be slaughtered. It is better to send someone to his military camp to promise benefits, first hand over a relationship, and then we wait for Wakda and Hou Xuanyan to fight. Hou Xuan's defeat is naturally the best result. If he wins, we will be Gu Youde of Suzhou and Wu Jikun of Jinling. What's wrong with it?"

Huang Tingyun smiled slightly but didn't laugh. His sharp voice made people feel uncomfortable when they heard it: "What is the nephew who means, do you want to be a fence-bearing tree?"

Cheng Liangru's face was not good, and Ma Chulu hurriedly said, "The grass on the wall looks good, and the grass on the wall seems soft and weak, but it can always ride on the wall. If the weeds on the ground want to reach this height, they must not. As a grass, it is not only higher than other grasses, but also above flowers, birds and trees. Isn't it the realm that we businessmen pursue?"

The three of them looked at each other and suddenly laughed together, shaking their fingers to point at each other, and they had a very tacit understanding between them. The reason why the three families have always stood firm and have always controlled the salt transportation of the two Huaihe Rivers was because of their cooperative relationship. The strong teamed up to suppress the rising stars, and many amazing business geniuses were strangled by them on the way to start. The three of them gradually laughed wildly, and there were some prides among them.

After a while, Cheng Liangru, who stopped smiling, said, "We must win over Hou Xuanyan. The secrets that must be done in this matter cannot be leaked, otherwise it will be spread and let Wakda know. This Tartar will definitely not give up."

"Don't worry, in Huai'an, the three of us who don't want people to know, even the Emperor, don't even think about hearing about it. Instead, we should think about how to win over Hou Xuanyan and buy this life-saving talisman." Ma Chulu was the most cautious among the three of them. He was also the most concerned about the idea of ​​pleased both ends, and only felt that this method was very wonderful and in line with his wishes.

Cheng Liangru laughed and said, "What's the difficulty? As long as you are an individual, you have desires. If you have desires, you can use money to bribe him. I heard that Hou Xuan played this person's faults, among which the two are greedy and lustful. Ma Shiying was in a down-and-out Jiangnan and was almost begging. He became the Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion just because he offered a daughter. Wu Jikun built a Longtan Harbor, and was so happy that he picked up his pen and gave him a plaque. Since he knew his hobby, are there anyone who has more money and beauty than we have?"

The merchants in Lianghuai are indeed qualified to say this. Few people can compare with the beauty of money.

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In the tent of the Central Army in the Northern Expedition Army, Zhu Dadian and Li Haoxian stood in the tent, Hou Xuanyan sat on a chair, raised his legs and asked, "After Wu Yi's surrender letter was handed over, has the guards in Qingjiangpu increased?"

Li Haoxian shook his head and said, "No, Wakda has been scared out of fear. He huddled in Huai'an and seemed to want to be in a stalemate with us."

Hou Xuanyan sat up and smiled and said, "You don't understand them. He is proud at this moment and thinks he has seen through my plan. I will give him another dose of eye drops tonight and put the prisoners back to inform me. Our acting skills are so poor. When the prisoners go back, they will definitely tell Wakda. Then he will be more suspicious."

Li Haoxian twisted his face, scratched his head, and leaned forward and asked, "Master General, do you want him to believe it or not? Not to mention Wakda, the Tatars, are confused."

Hou Xuanyan glanced at his beloved general, and was so anxious that he scratched his head. He couldn't help but say, "Remember, strategy is dead, people are alive. There is no strategy of marching and fighting. Only flexibility is the king. I don't want him to believe it or not, but I have strategies to deal with it when he believes it. He doesn't believe it, and he also has plans to die. He doesn't have a place to die. I'm afraid that his heart will be as calm as the ancient well. Relying on the artillery and ammunition of the Zheng family, the thick walls of Huai'an are here to waste with us, making it difficult to build our Northern Expedition East Route. In short, what I want is Wakda's heart. Only when he is confused can he make mistakes and we have the opportunity to take advantage of it."

Zhu Dadian stroked his beard and felt something was clear. Li Haoxian said happily: "It would be fine if the commander-in-chief didn't say it, but it would be even more confused when the commander was given."

Hou Xuanyan was in high spirits and stood up and was about to continue to give in-depth explanations. His personal soldier Hu Bawan shouted outside the tent: "Master, someone is asking for a meeting."

The three people in the tent looked at each other. This was the Central Army camp, not the backyard of the mansion. What does it mean to 'someone ask for a meeting'? Hu Bawan opened the door of the tent, walked in and clasped his fists and said, "It was from Huai'an City."

Hou Xuanyan pondered for a moment and said with a smile: "These must be some of the big families in Huai'an who want to come to worship the mountain. Let them come in, and I want to see what fragrance these local tyrants and evil gentry came to worship me, and they brought me what kind of incense they were, and their hearts were pious or not." Suddenly, Hou Xuanyan was blessed and whispered to the heart of the guards in the tent to bring Qin He to the back of the tent to weed and transform them with labor.

After Hu Bawan went out, he quickly brought two people in. Both of them were dressed up in ordinary people. After entering the tent, they pounced and knelt on the ground: "Caomin has seen the Duke of the Kingdom and kowtowed to you on behalf of our master."

Hou Xuanyan laughed and said, "Which family are you from?"

"The princess returned to China, the two villains are slaves of the Cheng family."

Zhu Dadian had been in Yangzhou for a long time, so he naturally knew several wealthy merchants in Huai'an and explained to Hou Xuanyan: "It was Cheng Liangjin, the first salt merchant in both Huaihe Rivers."

Hou Xuanyan nodded, suddenly changed his face and scolded, "I am the Duke of the Ming Dynasty. You and your master are loyal ministers and good people of the Qing Dynasty. You will be spared if you kowtow to me on their behalf. Cheng Liangru asked you to come, are you going to help Vakda give me a letter of war? My subordinates have been holding it in for many days. When will the Tartars go out of the city to fight?"

These two people were selected by Cheng Liang. The eloquent and meticulous people under his command would not be scared by him. After hearing Hou Xuan's speech, one of them hurriedly said, "Duke off your anger. Our master knew that he had made a big mistake, but that was forced to do so. The Tartars are powerful, and our master is just an ordinary businessman. After the city is broken, he will be a slave to the destruction of the country. What we have been waiting for is the king's army's northern expedition. Fortunately, there is Duke of the Ming Dynasty, and we finally waited for it.

On the day of the Northern Expedition of the King's Army, as long as the Duke of the Kingdom can help us fight the Tartars away, let us see the light of day again and restore our clothes, we Huai'an people are willing to let the Duke of the Kingdom see our wishes." After saying that, his hand reached to his sleeves. Although the guards had searched repeatedly when they came in, he had no sharp weapons. However, this action still made Hu Bawan and other personal soldiers feel as if they were facing a great enemy, and they slashed at his back with a knife, causing the Cheng family lobbyist to kneel down on the ground with a wail.

The lobbyist took out an envelope, endured the pain and said, "This is a meeting gift given to the commander-in-chief by my master. After the city was destroyed, it was presented as much as possible."

Li Haoxian came forward in person, took the envelope and turned around to hand it to Hou Xuanyan.

Hou Xuanyan waved his hand and said, "Read it out loud, let me listen. This is Cheng Dayishang's filial piety and his patriotism. Let's take a look at it together."

He was afraid that his voice would not be loud, and the Qing prisoners who had been transformed outside would not hear it, so he deliberately let Li Haoxian, who had a loud enough voice, read it.

Li Haoxian couldn't help laughing and tear open the envelope and said, "The Duke of the Kingdom is here, and Cao Min Cheng Liangzhi and the merchants and parishes of the two Huai Rivers have been bowing to each other again and again. We are trapped in our enemies and are in panic all day long, and we are crying blood in our eyes. Now that we hear that the King's Army crosses the Huai River, the army has arrived at the city, Cao Min is all over the place. He only regrets that the Qing soldiers are brutal and cruel, and are unable to welcome the Duke of the Kingdom. In order to redeem the day when the Duke of the Sin enters the city, we are willing to offer five million taels of silver to the Duke of the Kingdom and the elite soldiers of the tiger generals under our command to expel the Tartars for us, so that we can see the light of the sky again."

Zhu Dadian exclaimed: "What a big deal!"

The two sent letters were important positions, observing their expressions and taking Hou Xuanyan's true thoughts back and telling Cheng Liangru that he had completed the task. They looked up and saw Hou Xuanyan's face as if he was like water. After a while, he said in a deep voice: "These unscrupulous merchants are unsincere and do not leave any signatures, for fear that I will hand them over to the hands of the people and will bear them. It seems that they just want to make a short promise that if we break the city, he can spend money to buy his life. We cannot defeat Huai'an. It is really a scheming for them to continue to be the clear dog. Go back and tell your master that if he wants to survive, he must find a way to help me break the city. If I capture Huai'an City and your master has not made any contribution, the day when the city is destroyed is the time when his whole family dies. At that time, your Cheng Mansion will not even be a living dog."
Chapter completed!