Li Yue was sitting at home, observing some onions that her husband was growing in the warehouse.
I heard Aunt Wang's narration.
"A few days ago, the Marquis of Bangxian County was paying attention to Lu Chengqing's affairs. Recently, I have observed the Braised Pork Gang. After the growth in the past three years, its personnel are spread all over the Central Plains. Not only are they helping the Foreign Affairs Council, there are also many forces working in Liaodong."
Li Yue's slender and white jade-like fingers brushed over these buds that had just emerged. In front of the county prince, Her Royal Highness the Princess was obedient. Only when she was alone could she have such a calm and composed expression.
Her eyes are filled with thoughts and calculations, and this kind of aura makes people unconsciously awe her. Even in front of Xiao Wu and Xu Hui, Her Royal Highness the Princess never has such an expression. Only when she is alone, for the sake of the county magistrate.
She has such an expression because of her karma.
When did Her Royal Highness have such an aura? After getting closer and closer to the Queen, or after she became pregnant, this feeling became more and more obvious.
As the mistress of the house, to take charge of such a huge family property for the county prince, Her Royal Highness the Princess needs to have this kind of momentum.
She stood up slowly and whispered: "Does Qingque know these things?"
Aunt Wang bowed and said: "His Royal Highness the King of Wei only knows that the county prince is making arrangements. He probably doesn't know how powerful his power is."
Li Yue sat down again, holding her temples and closing her eyes as she thought, "With the power of the green forest in hand, I am calling for knights from all over the world. If my father finds out about such a thing, I am afraid it will be difficult to deal with."
Aunt Wang replied: "Your Majesty knows that most of the people who buy braised pork in Chang'an City are related to the county princes, but the person selling braised pork is General Chu Mo, and General Chu Mo has handed over the business to Brother He Bi to take care of it."
"If my father wants to investigate the Braised Pork Gang, he must be interrogated. Even if he wants to investigate, why should my eldest brother be the first to bear the brunt of it? Chu Mo can just wipe it out, let alone find out her husband."
"Once something goes wrong, the county lord can get away immediately without affecting Lishan. These forces are intertwined. On the surface, the Braised Pork Gang is just hoeing the strong and supporting the weak. These are all cover. Those who are really doing the work are other people. They usually
The people walking around the streets are all idle people. Among them, the manpower arrangements are all arranged by Shangguan Yi behind the scenes. I don’t know who the superiors are. Only the people above give orders to the people below, and the people below will not know who the people above are arranging matters.
, most of them don’t meet each other, and they only leave marks in wine shops or city walls, which is the secret code for communication.”
It was a small gang at the time, but I didn't expect it to be so interconnected now.
Li Yue suddenly laughed again, "The leader who calls on the rangers is never a highly skilled person. Reducing ten guilds with one force can only make people truly convinced, and respecting rules and character only means they can trust them for a few more years.
Only by solving their livelihood can they work for this for the rest of their lives."
Aunt Wang replied: "Nowadays, the braised pork business is not only in Luoyang, but some people even go to Lingnan."
The small shop back then has been closed, so why bother to do business with Ding Liao? In my husband's words, if these retail investors are allowed to sell braised pork, the business will be ruined.
Why bother just distributing the secret ingredient, which is soy sauce.
As for other matters, Lishan is no longer involved.
In this way, this business can be completely stripped away, and the only line that can connect Lishan can be hidden deepest.
Li Yue looked at the account book and said, "Auntie, please send a thousand guan to General Chu Mo so that he can arrange his manpower well. If he is a young man, forget it. My husband wants to do big things, and all our family has is money."
"
Aunt Wang nodded, "Let's make arrangements now."
In the middle of winter, heavy snow falls continuously, and when the wind blows, the snow brings pain to the cheeks.
Because he had to prepare for the imperial examination next year, fifteen-year-old Pei Xingjian walked into Chang'an City under the escort of two servants.
Even on a snowy day, there are many pedestrians on Zhuque Street.
Pei Xingjian raised his head and said: "This place is much more lively than Jiangzhou. My family always talks about how dilapidated Chang'an City is. In our opinion, it is our family that is lifeless."
A fifteen-year-old boy could say this comment, which made the servants on the side fall silent. They didn't know what the young master meant when he said so lifelessly.
The young master is the smartest person in the clan. This time he came so far away from home to take part in the imperial examination. He always visited various places along the way from Hedong, and finally arrived at Chang'an City.
Pei Xingjian bought a piece of cake and continued walking on Zhuque Street, "Ordinarily I should go to the Chongwen Hall to submit the documents from Hexi first."
The servant replied: "Hongwen Hall is also acceptable."
Pei Xingjian's still childish face showed displeasure, "I want to see more of other places in Chang'an City."
The servant added: "The imperial examination will be held in May next year. During this period, the young master can go wherever he wants."
"I want to go to Lishan." Pei Xingjian said without thinking.
"Lishan is a princess fiefdom. I heard that it is strictly guarded and cannot be entered easily."
"I want to see the man named Zhang Yang. My aunt also said that he asked Wei Zheng's wife Pei to come and inquire about my current situation." Pei Xingjian slowed down, "How could a person in Chang'an City think of Hedong? How did he know
mine?"
The servant stopped and lowered his head and said: "I don't know, but this Zhang Yang has a strange temperament and is solitary that he doesn't make friends easily. There are rumors in Chang'an City that this man is so smart that he is almost a demon. The elders in the family have warned me that I should study hard and don't get into trouble."
thing."
Pei Xingjian's face became even more annoyed as he chewed the cake, and he couldn't get rid of the two servants beside him.
He followed the instructions and came to Hongwen Hall and submitted the documents to the doorman here.
The doorman received the document confirmation and said loudly: "Pei Xingjian of Jiangzhou, Hedong Road, enter the palace!"
The next thing was to register and register. Pei Xingjian wrote down his family background, age, and comments about the state and county in each dossier.
The clerk confirmed that the writing was correct, and even secretly admired the young man's calligraphy.
After being entertained by the servants of the Hongwen Hall here, Pei Xingjian came down to a place in the hall where he could rest for a while. The two servants discussed in a low voice for a while, and then one of them left in a hurry.
"I heard that Chang'an City has arranged accommodation for candidates, and I've already gone to inquire about it."
Pei Xingjian closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, placing the bundle on the table, "I don't like you guys arranging everything."
The servant whispered: "This is what a servant should do. The young master is going to be a Jinshi, so he must make proper arrangements."
The Hongwen Hall was very noisy, and two groups of people were discussing.
Pei Xingjian ate the cake and drank a sip of hot tea to satisfy his hunger. It was said that people in Chang'an City had a unique way of drinking tea, and they were very particular about making this kind of tea.
Tasting the faint taste of tea, Pei Xingjian's attention was focused on the discussion between these two groups.
What they are arguing about is whether people live on a ball. Some people think this is nonsense. How can people live on a ball? It should be flat ground.
While talking, Pei Xingjian heard the names of Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang.
When the clerk here handed a sign to him, Pei Xingjian frowned and took the wooden sign.
With this wooden sign, I will be a candidate for the next imperial examination.
Pei Xingjian asked curiously: "I heard that it is difficult to count one subject in the imperial examination, right?"
The literary official replied, "Last year, the Imperial College came to ask the questions. This year, Taoist Li Chunfeng will ask the questions. It won't be too difficult after thinking about it."
Pei Xingjian glanced at the person in charge here suspiciously, then put away the token, "I heard that you work for the eldest grandson's family?"
I was questioned by the Changsun family about an incident before, and I have been living more and more cautiously in the past two years. The young man in front of me must be able to ask such a question.
"These things are not for the young master to inquire about."
Pei Xingjian put away the token and stood up, walking out of the Hongwen Hall. The cold wind that hit him made him tighten his clothes.
"When will Brother Xue Rengui come to Chang'an City?" Pei Xingjian said to himself.
Both of them are from Hedong. They are from the same hometown and have been helping Pei Xingjian since childhood.
However, after Xue Rengui's family fell into decline, there was less contact between the two.
First of all, the Pei family is a prominent family in Hedong, while the Xue family is not as good as before.
If two families get too close, they will be criticized by the elders of the clan.
Seeing that Pei Xingjian was still thinking about his elder brother Xue, the servant replied: "Xue Rengui is working in Liu Yuan's family. He has to finish at least this year's spring plowing before he can come to Chang'an. Liu Yuan also has a daughter. He said that he would only agree if Xue Rengui passed the imperial examination.
Marry your daughter to him."
Pei Xingjian snorted: "That member Liu is a villain. He is sure that Brother Xue will not be able to become a Jinshi because of his poor talent and academic skills. He will not easily marry off his daughter and will keep him under control."
"Even if the young master is angry, this kind of thing is the order of his parents, and he is not a villain."
"Red Mansion! Both Lovers and Lovers are yearning for love. I believe Brother Xue will definitely be able to get married to her."
The servant could only sigh at the young master's stubbornness.
Pei Xingjian looked at the houses on both sides of Zhuque Street, "I heard that there is a place called the Diplomatic Academy in Chang'an City. It was built by Zhang Yang. Where is it?"
The servant replied: "It's on the edge of the East Market. It's said to be not far from the Imperial College."
Pei Xingjian had an idea in his mind, "Go and have a look."
Turn into the East Market from Zhuque Street and pass by the Imperial College. You can see a large house with two floors. There are no officials walking around at the moment.
There are two guards guarding the door of the Diplomatic Academy.
Pei Xingjian wanted to go in and take a look, but was stopped.
He took off the wooden sign and said, "I am a student taking the imperial examination next year. Can I go in and have a look?"
The guard replied: "This is an important diplomatic area with other countries. You cannot enter or exit at will, even if you are a member of the military."
Pei Xingjian persisted and poked his head in for a few more looks before leaving.
When I was going to the arranged accommodation, I saw a group of people fighting when I passed by the post house.
"Interesting." Pei Xingjian stopped and looked at the chaos.
The servant whispered: "Young master, in this place of right and wrong, it is best not to stay for a long time."
Pei Xingjian turned a blind eye to such instructions. He looked at them with curiosity, "Their clothes are so weird. Are these Turkic clothes? I have never seen a Turkic person before."
The servant added: "It seems that they are indeed Turks. People say that the Foreign Affairs Academy has the most troubles."
Not long after, someone came with a group of officers and soldiers, and then the group of Turks gave up and went into the post house.
Pei Xingjian couldn't help his curiosity and stepped forward to ask the waiter at Xiangyiguan, "May I ask who the person who was fighting just now was and what the reason for the fight was."
The waiter lazily cleaned up the mess after their fight, "They are from the Western Turks, and they are the men of two khans. They fought fiercely in the Western Turks, and they will continue to fight when they reach Chang'an City."
Pei Xingjian nodded slightly, and when he was about to ask again, he saw that the servant's face had darkened, so he gave up and left.
The city of Chang'an is very big, and there are only a few small counties in Hedong. This is the first time I have seen such a prosperous market in my life.
We arrived at the residence prepared for the health workers in Chang'an City. This residence is not big, and there are not many people staying there. It is just a posthouse for the health workers.
Pei Xingjian was not interested in the government affairs discussed by the scholars here. He followed his servants to a room and planned to have a good sleep.
I didn't have a good rest all the way from Hexi, but I had a solid sleep when I arrived at Chang'an City.
The snow continued to fall for three more days, and Li Shimin took his family to Lishan Mountain again.
It also highlights the current holy scroll of Mount Li.
Changsun Wuji was not too surprised when he heard the news.
Lu Chengqing's collapse also aroused discussion among aristocratic families everywhere.
Changsun Wuji listened to their story with boredom and said: "Your Majesty's kindness saved his life, so you don't need to say more."
"But Lu Shangshu was bound to be severely beaten when building a city wall in the Hexi Corridor. This is no different from asking him to die."
Changsun Wuji looked angry, "I have said so much, but you still don't understand? There can be no more setbacks in the imperial examination. There is only so much I can do."
Seeing what they wanted to say, Changsun Wuji stood up, waved his sleeves and said, "Send off the guests!"
After the others left, Changsun Chong came out and said, "I heard that Zhang Yang is adding fuel to the fire this time."
Changsun Wuji sighed again, "Zhang Yang is young and energetic and needs a lot of teaching. If you let him be unruly, he will learn a lesson."
As he spoke, he looked sadly at the rare clear sky.
Even after the heavy snow stopped, the temperature was still very low. Zhang Yang looked at the sky sadly, "The wind is strong today. It seems that the snow will continue to fall this year. There will definitely be another heavy snow in two days."
Li Tai was still thinking about his bronze mirror, "Can my brother-in-law understand the secret of it?"
Zhang Yang looked at a group of cars coming from a distance and replied: "Not yet, let me observe for a few more days."
Li Tai lowered his head in frustration, "I asked someone to inquire. There are less than a dozen of these bronze mirrors left in the world. Brother-in-law, please don't throw them away."
"No, His Highness King Wei must believe in my character."
Not long after, the car arrived in front of me.
Li Lizhi led a group of princes and princesses out of the carriage, and she ran over quickly, "Where is my royal sister?"
Zhang Yang looked at these little devils expressionlessly, "Your imperial sister is at your residence."
"Yue'er is pregnant, so don't mess around."
As soon as Li Shimin's voice fell, a group of naughty children ran into the village, and a group of palace maids followed them. They were afraid that something might happen to these children, and if any prince or princess fell on the way.
They will inevitably have to be punished.
Zhang Yang saluted and said: "Your Majesty, Queen."