But everyone still has to follow, who knows if this is what the palace means?
Ke Jihai paused with a sad expression, and bowed to the guests with clasped fists: "Ke, a frontline soldier, thank you all for your generous donation!"
Once these hundreds of thousands of shi of grain are in place, the army will be able to hold on for a while longer.
Of course, everyone was polite, but Ke Jihai said to the subordinate officer behind him in a blink of an eye: "Please note down all the donations of military rations from your lords! You are the only one who made the mistake."
The He brothers glanced at each other and saw the smile in each other's eyes. Ke Jihai was afraid that the nobles present would make irresponsible remarks and turn around and refuse to admit their guilt. This shows how firm his determination to get food was.
He Chunhua also spoke: "It just so happens that my He family will also donate..."
At this point, Ke Jihai interrupted: "What are you donating? You have to recruit soldiers and horses even if you go to Xiazhou. How can you have enough money in your pocket? Don't forget that there is your old enemy in the north, Nian Zanli! Let me see, there is
The war is no easier than Wuzhou." He refused to accept his food gift no matter what.
He Chunhua had no choice but to give up and take his two sons back to sit down.
Next, the host tried to smooth things over and quickly got over this unexpected incident. The strings, bamboos, and kabuki came on stage, quickly attracting everyone's attention.
As worthy of being at the feet of the Emperor, these singers' figures are much more graceful than those from Blackwater City, their singing voices are more gentle, and even their eyes are very affectionate.
He Lingchuan watched intently, but He Yue nudged him with his elbow: "Hey, look at General Ke."
Ke Jihai had just drank a few glasses of wine when a young man came from behind to greet him, and the two started chatting.
Although it is said to be "chatting", it is more like a young man talking endlessly, while Ke Jihai is listening with a glass of wine, occasionally frowning and asking a few questions.
After a cup of tea, Ke Jihai ordered someone to get the young man a glass of wine.
The young man choked after taking one sip and coughed for a long time.
There was a female guest at the banquet, so the drinks served were soft and slightly sweet, and everyone could use them. But Ke Jihai was used to drinking strong drinks, so he had already asked the waiter to change him.
Seeing the young man choking on his drink, Ke Jihai smiled and said a few words, which He Lingchuan recognized as "still young".
The boy is in his early twenties, with slightly dark skin, a Chinese character face, and a good-natured face, but his eyes are round and bright. Unlike Yan Xi, whose robe is covered in silk, although his robe is of good quality, it has been washed away. He Lingchuan also
An inconspicuous patch was found on his hem.
This guy is totally incompatible with Lumingyuan.
Then the young man handed Ke Jihai a brochure, saluted, stood up and left.
Ke Jihai didn't even open it to look at it, but handed it to the subordinate officer behind him.
After another half an hour, he stood up, toasted Zhu Xiyan with a glass of wine, and then walked out.
It looked like he was ready to leave.
He Lingchuan was once again convinced that General Ke's main reason for going to Lumingyuan tonight was to get money and pay for the frontline officers and soldiers. Now that the goal had been achieved, he was about to leave.
At this moment, Mrs. Ying held her stomach and whispered to her husband: "I have some abdominal pain."
"Do you want to change clothes?"
"No, it's just a dull pain that's been there for a while." Mrs. Ying said sheepishly, "Maybe it's because I'm not used to eating these delicacies."
This banquet was very elaborate, with things flying in the sky, things swimming in the water, and things running on the ground all on the plate. But Ying Hongchan was used to home-cooked meals in the borderlands, and now she tasted all the five flavors and consciously enjoyed it.
Sorry.
"You." He Chunhua had no choice but to stand up and say goodbye to the Zhu family, leaving first with his wife and children.
Walking outside, Assistant Liu was eating wine with his feet up and two side dishes.
Of course, such a small person is not qualified to enter the banquet hall.
Seeing He's family coming out, he said hello and hurried out to get a Roman carriage.
The night was dark, most of the lights at the foot of the mountain had been extinguished, and snow was falling in the air.
The wheels crunched on the fresh snow.
When He Lingchuan saw the scene at the bottom of the mountain again, he no longer admired it. Instead, he remembered that the night view of Shihuan City he had seen before was beautiful, but it was dark all around the city, and the lights became sparser as he went outside. It did not look like the one at the feet of the emperor.
He asked Deputy Liu: "Aren't there many residents around Shi Huan?"
"A lot, why not a lot?" Assistant Liu answered, "There are five counties and thirteen townships, either farming or living off Shihuan City."
Shihuan City is such a prosperous place, and most of the residents in the surrounding counties and villages earn their living by diligently serving it.
"Then why are there so few lights?"
"You are busy during the day, but you have nothing to do when you come home at night. Why don't you fall asleep?" Assistant Liu said with a smile, "Besides, candles are expensive, so why light them?"
He Lingchuan immediately remembered what Zhu Xiyan had just said.
He Yue whispered: "Compared to what we saw along the way, the life of the villagers around Shi Huan is much better. At least they have food to eat and can survive."
They walked here from Blackwater City and truly saw how difficult people's livelihood was. He Yue had read thousands of books in seven or eight years, but nothing was as good as what he had seen in the past twenty or thirty days, which was all unbelievable and shocking.
This little boy finally understood what it means to "rise and fall because of the suffering of the common people."
As soon as these words came out, even Deputy Liu couldn't hold back the smile on his face. He swallowed: "Wang Ting issued an order ten days ago and increased taxes again. This is the second time this year, so everything is more expensive now.
"
If you are short of money, food, or wages, you have to ask for it from the people.
If the people were too harsh, another person would rise up, a second one, and a third one, Hong Xiangqiang.
This topic can no longer be discussed.
After the wheels started rolling, He Lingchuan lifted the curtain and looked forward: "In front is General Ke's carriage, not far from us." It was only five or six feet away, separated by flying snow flakes.
The snow seems to be getting heavier and heavier.
He Yue said: "General Ke is here to collect wages from the dignitaries of Shihuan City this time. Did Lord Zhu know about it in advance, or did he cooperate temporarily?"
He Lingchuan sneered: "These nobles in Shihuancheng are so fat that they can donate tens of thousands of stones without even blinking an eye. It would be very interesting if they could get hundreds of thousands of stones of food."
He Chunhua nodded: "General Ke didn't ask for much food and salary from Wang Ting. I think someone gave him some advice and asked him to find Shihuancheng to raise funds."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! He Yue murmured: "Forcing the generals leading the troops on the front line to rush back to the capital to ask for pay, it is a wonder in the world." There was inevitably some anger in his words.
He had known that the country was corrupt, but after seeing it with his own eyes, he still felt uncomfortable.
He Lingchuan patted his head: "You are still too young, kid."
He Chunhua shook his head and said: "Asking for pay is just a pretext. I think General Ke has another purpose in returning to the capital."
He Yue's face changed color: "You, you mean he also has two..."
Before the last word "心" was uttered, He Chunhua scolded: "Nonsense!"
"I suspect that he rushed back to plead with Master Fu Jufu."
"Fu Ju..." He Lingchuan activated the Confused Skill, "Who is it?"
He Yue knew: "Sanqi often served Mr. Fu, who was originally a ranger general. I remember that he fought several battles in the south and west. Later, he suffered from injuries and illnesses, and he was old and had problems at home. His descendants also had troubles at home.
If you are an official in the court, you will have no great future."
"Gene Era"
He Lingchuan: "Already retired? What big thing has this old man committed that requires General Ke to come back to intercede for him?"
He Yue was also confused.
"It was only when I arrived in Shihuan that I heard that someone had secretly reported that Fu Ju was on good terms with the former chief minister Ma Donghaoming and had private financial transactions with Wuzhou." He Chunhua has been dealing with officials of all sizes in the past few days and has collected a lot of money.
Heaps of information and gossip.
The He brothers looked at each other, and a chill ran up their backs.
At this time, being accused of colluding with Dong Haoming would lead to death.
"Your Majesty, did you believe it?"
"If you don't believe it, why would General Ke rush back in such a hurry? Fu Ju used to fight alongside him on the battlefield and saved his life more than once. The two have a very good relationship." He Chunhua looked at his two sons and sighed, "Do you know?
, Although the Fu family is not a big one, its family fortune is extremely rich, ranking among the top six in the entire country."
"The Fu family has produced famous generals who have made great achievements with Yuan Gaozu and received a lot of rewards. Although his descendants are not good at martial arts or outstanding officials, they are all very good at business. They have engaged in more than a dozen businesses, and the wealth of their family has increased.
The bigger. When Fu Ju was a cavalry general, he could not engage in business as an official, but he put all his business in the name of his close relatives. I heard that nearly 30% of the medicine shops in the capital were owned by his family; the entire six streets in the west of the capital were also owned by Fu Ju.
Our land. A place like that where every inch of land is precious, hey! Think about it, how rich is the Fu family?"
He Lingchuan tilted his head: "Can you be richer than the king?"
He Chunhua smiled and said nothing.
If you are richer than anyone else, everyone will be jealous; if you are richer than the king, then...
He Yue's eyes flashed slightly, why did his father suddenly mention the Fu family's money?
He Chunhua added: "The late emperor confiscated a large sum of property from the Fu family because the children of the Fu family relied on wealth and oppressed the common people. Everyone thought that the family's vitality was damaged, but they did not expect that it would take only a few years for it to recover.
, but will keep a low profile from now on.”
He Yue tilted his head: "With the Fu family's astonishing wealth, can it support a war until we defeat Dong Haoming?"
He Chunhua said softly: "We still don't know."
This is his catchphrase, and both brothers know that the next sentence is "why not give it a try"?
Assistant Liu was also sitting in the car, so he couldn't speak clearly, but both brothers understood.
The Fu family is too rich, but they have no powerful officials in the dynasty. However, the country is crying out for money during wars, so...
Therefore, the fact itself is not important whether Fu Ju was involved in treason or rebellion. The Fu family thought that keeping a low profile could avoid disaster, but unfortunately, the crime of holding a jade is an unbreakable and eternal truth.
He Lingchuan smiled and said: "Isn't there an old saying in our Qiansong County: If you are rich but not powerful, you will be penned as a fat pig."
So what if you are a very rich man? When the powerful are sharpening their swords, you still have to be obedient and accept the slaughter?
He Chunhua said in a low voice: "The Great Sima fled back to Wuzhou after his regicide failed. He is at ease. There are many officials in the court who were implicated, but Shang did not know how many. It is said that the guillotine at the entrance of the market was blunted, and the confiscated family property was temporarily gone."
The storage space was all piled up in several large warehouses behind the Pinghe Temple, and it probably took more than two months to process it."