In the evening, Zhou Jun asked Chun Niang in the dining room to prepare some more good dishes and a jar of good wine, and called Kong You and Hua Yue over.
Kong You had just returned to Bieyuan from Baqiao Village. He was covered in dust and mud. When he saw Zhou Jun, he was excited, but he did not forget the etiquette. He said that he should go back and change his clothes as soon as possible before attending the banquet.
Hua Yue set up a small round table in the small courtyard and moved in a crescent moon stool.
Zhou Jun took the wine cup and handed over the lunch box.
Soon, Kong You, dressed in new clothes, appeared at the door of Zhou Jun's courtyard, holding a small wooden box in his hand.
Zhou Jun saw the wooden box in Kong You's hand and asked, "What is this?"
Kong You opened the wooden box, took out one account book after another from it, and said to Zhou Jun: "The Master Dare knows that someone has kept the accounts of Bachuan Villa in the past six months, and they are all stored here."
Zhou Jun shook his head amusedly: "No need to read it, just keep it."
Kong You: "But...?"
Zhou Jun sat down at the small table, poured himself a glass of wine, waved to Kong You and said, "I don't have so many rules here. Sit down first. You can eat or drink whatever you want."
Kong You saw that Hua Yue had already sat down. The latter was holding a rice bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other hand, picking up diced braised chicken with sauce.
Knowing that the master's behavior was no better than ordinary people, Kong You had no choice but to put away his account book and sit down.
Zhou Jun slowly finished the wine in the cup, glanced at the scenery outside the small courtyard wall, and sighed: "I have only been away for half a year, but so much has changed here. How did Bo Hong do it?"
Kong You sat upright and replied respectfully: "My lord, I sent the villagers from Baqiao Village to tidy up the inner garden one morning, and they were appreciated by Duke Pang."
"During the period when the master's family traveled north, King Shou came several times with his friends, and old acquaintances of Duke Pang and Yin also came several times."
"Pang Gong felt that the Villa was a bit crude, so he sent someone to renovate it."
"It took me half a month to first travel around the Bachuan River, then discuss with Liu Yikuang how to revise the book, and finally submitted the strategy for renovating the garden to Mr. Pang."
Zhou Jun nodded. Kong You was not only resourceful, but also practical. It was reassuring to leave the errands to him.
Thinking of this, Zhou Jun smiled at Kong You and said: "Mo Dao Master, let's just call him Erlang. Bohong is a man of talents, and you came to me, but Jun got a lucky general."
Kong You stood up, raised his hands to Zhou Jun and said: "Erlang is traveling north this time, marching in formation to retreat from the enemy, and protecting all the supervisory troops. He is sent as an envoy back to He, saying that the nine surnames will attack Ba Ximi together."
"Such unparalleled achievements can only be achieved by sages from ancient times. To put it this way, you have found a wise master."
After Zhou Jun heard this, he didn't think anything of it at first, but after careful consideration, he always felt that something was strange.
After putting aside his thoughts, Zhou Jun said: "Let's not talk about these things, just have wine."
Zhou Jun had two more glasses of wine and saw that Kong You and Hua Yue were both eating vegetables, and he thought about something.
Although there are many people in Bachuan Villa, in terms of friendship, they are all on par with Zhou Jun.
But if we really want to talk about the word trust, if we look around other places, all in all, there are only one and a half people.
Among them, this person naturally refers to Hua Yue.
She was rescued from the slave market, and they had been together for such a long time, and the other party was even willing to give up the chance to return home for Zhou Jun, so naturally she could be trusted unconditionally.
And the remaining half of the person is Kong You in front of him.
Why is it said to be half a person?
Kong You signed a slave contract with Zhou Jun and acted conscientiously without making any mistakes.
But for some reason, when Zhou Jun looked at Kong You, he always felt like there was a layer of veil between him.
This man has great talent, but he has pretended to be stupid for many years. However, after meeting Zhou Jun, he was willing to surrender to him.
Zhou Jun couldn't understand what Kong You was thinking and what he was planning to do, so he could only regard him as half a trustworthy person.
After thinking about this, Zhou Jun put down the wine glass in his hand and said to Kong You and Hua Yue: "In the past six months, I have been on a mission to Uighur and accompanied Shuofang's army in the northern expedition to the Turks. Along the way, I saw a lot and heard a lot.
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Then, Zhou Jun picked out some of what he saw and heard along the way.
Kong You and Hua Yue heard this for the first time, so they stopped eating and just listened carefully.
After spending some time, Zhou Jun finished talking about what he had seen and heard, and then changed the subject: "I went to Huihe and lived in Shuofang's army for a long time. I have an idea, and you can help me with the strategy."
"Uighur nobles like to eat Tang tea, but the preparation method is complicated and time-consuming, and whether it is steamed or boiled, the original flavor of tea is lost."
"So, I have a method that can simplify the tea drinking process while retaining the original fragrance of the tea to the greatest extent."
Kong You was stunned for a moment and then asked: "Simplify the procedures and retain the aroma of tea? But fry the tea in oil?"
Zhou Jun shook his head and said: "No, it's better than Jiantu."
Hua Yue asked Zhou Jun: "Will the Uighur people get used to eating the tea made by the new method?"
Recalling the craze caused by drinking tea among many nomadic peoples in the north in history books, Zhou Jun said with certainty: "The Uighur people will definitely be happy to eat new tea."
Kong You glanced at Zhou Jun and asked: "The new method of making tea mentioned by Erlang was given by the immortal in a dream?"
Zhou Jun was startled, then reacted, nodded and said, "Yes."
Kong You nodded and said: "Since it is what the immortal said, it must be true. But after this new tea is made, how to trade with the tribes in Mobei is also a problem."
Zhou Jun: "Shuofang's army and Jiu Xing have mutual trade. I plan to entrust the military envoy to open a tea market specifically for Mobei."
Kong You thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Erlang's move is a great good. If Xintu is liked by the tribes in Mobei, it will definitely attract the covetousness of Shuofang's army. Instead of waiting for the military envoys to exploit and extort, it is better to take the initiative to make friends with them and transfer them.
Small profits can ensure business success."
Hua Yue asked at this time: "If you want to sell new tea, why not open a market in Chang'an City? According to common sense, there should be more people eating tea in the Tang Dynasty than in Mobei."
Before Zhou Jun could explain, Kong You said to Hua Yue: "If the tea made by the new method is sold in Chang'an City, within half a month, people who are interested will want to inquire about the source."
"Many high-ranking officials and nobles in Chang'an know that Xinte comes from Bachuan, and they will definitely try their best to find out how Xinte is made."
Kong You added: "Even if it is kept secret, if the palace knows about it, the saint will send an envoy to ask Pang Gong. Can you tell me, will Pang Gong disobey the saint, or will he blame Erlang?"
After hearing this, Hua Yue suddenly felt enlightened.
Kong You said to Zhou Jun: "If the new method of making tea can be liked by the tribes in Mobei, the demand will not be strong in the short term, and the products produced in Bachuan will be able to supply it."
"However, if new tea flourishes in the market and demand surges, what Bachuan produces may be just a drop in the bucket and not enough. Therefore, it is necessary to lay out a place now as a tea workshop for future use."
Zhou Jun was also stunned when he heard this.
What Kong You said is true. If fried tea really becomes popular among the tribes in Mobei, its demand will increase exponentially.
I'm afraid it really won't be able to supply just relying on the small workshops established here in Bachuan.
Zhou Jun began to think in his mind, if he really wanted to establish a secret base as a tea house, where would it be more secure?
First of all, the northeast must not be chosen, because if the Anshi Rebellion cannot be prevented, then Guannai Road, Hedong Road, Hebei Road, Henan Road, and Gyeonggi Road are all areas hardest hit by war, and are not suitable as base areas.
Next, although Hexi is close to Shuofang, it is close to Tubo. There will be a risk of falling there in a few years. It is a place of turmoil, so naturally it cannot be chosen.
Furthermore, Jiannan Road and Lingnan Road are not stable places, and Jiangnan Road is too far away.
Finally, after looking around, only Shannan West Road met the requirements, which is close to Gyeonggi Road. After the Anshi Rebellion in the future, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty also went here to avoid the war.
Zhou Jun told Kong You and Hua Yue the words Shannan West Road.
Hua Yue was okay, he just nodded to show his understanding.
But Kong You's body shook, and the wine in the cup spilled to the ground.
Seeing Kong You's face was gloomy and uncertain, Zhou Jun asked curiously: "What's wrong with Bo Hong? Why are you so panicked?"
Kong You stared at Zhou Jun for a long time, took a deep breath, and asked: "Erlang, but will there be war in the north soon?"
After hearing this, Zhou Jun was immediately stunned on the spot.
He only mentioned the place name Shannan West Road. How on earth did Kong You know that there would be war in the north in the future?
Kong You saw this and said: "The Turks are weak and may disappear in Mobei. Looking at the northern frontier of the Tang Dynasty, there is no rival."
"The only enemy that the Tang Dynasty is concerned about is Tubo."
"If you want to build a new tea house to trade with Uighurs, and if you don't want others to know about it, you will naturally find a place in the north to establish it. There are four reasons for this."
"First, it is adjacent to Shuofang in the north. If there is a change in Tafang, there will be military power to help."
"Secondly, it is close to Jiu Xing in Mobei, which shortens the business route and reduces the distance traveled."
"Third, the southern states are densely populated, which is not conducive to confidentiality."
"Fourth, the south is humid and rainy, which is not conducive to the preservation and transportation of new tea."
"From this point of view, it is natural to set up a tea house in the north of Chang'an, which will be far more advantageous in the south. A certain location originally guessed was the Wonju and Gyeongju areas, where there are many tea gardens, and the location is between Sokong and Chang'an.
"However, Erlang chose the land of Bashu instead of the near."
"Someone thought carefully and speculated without permission. Perhaps the immortal once told Erlang that there might be a war in the north in the future."
Zhou Jun took a breath of cold air and didn't know what to say for a moment.
After a while, Zhou Jun came to his senses and said to Kong You: "Whether there will be war in the north in the future, or whether it is possible, is still undecided. However, Bo Hong's words also reminded someone."
Zhou Jun now realized that even if the Anshi Rebellion broke out, it would be in the 14th year of Tianbao, which is still ten years from now.
If you want to set up a tea house, you don’t have to choose Bashu specifically.
It is indeed more advantageous to build the tea house in the north, close to Shuofang.
Zhou Jun glanced at Kong You and felt a little emotional.
It is really surprising that Kong Bohong could guess that there would be war in the north just by relying on the location of a tea workshop in his own words.