Bai Juyi's "Poetry on Shangzhou" says: "We stayed in the Shangzhou Pavilion for three days, waiting for the wife and children to go out."
Shangzhou City, Luoyi on the Spring and Autumn Period, Luo County on the Han Dynasty, is now Shangzhou.
Shangzhou is the largest city on Wuguan Road. It is located at the intersection of Sancha Road and is a transportation hub and military important location.
In the north of the city, the stone house covers an area of about fifty acres. It is one of the largest houses in the entire Shangzhou. The pair of large stone lions in front of the door are majestic and domineering.
For Shangzhou, the Shi family's status is extraordinary.
In Shang, it is one of the few large chambers of commerce on Wuguan Road with hundreds of cars and horses. More than a thousand people rely on its family for food. Hundreds of shops are spread across Shaanxi Province. Even Shaanxi merchants are afraid of three points.
As for his family status, his poetry and calligraphy were passed down from generation to generation, and he was a member of the Imperial Examination Committee for three consecutive generations, and a Jinshi Scholar for two generations. There were even more scholars, and he was one of the few imperial examination masters in Shaanxi Province.
Therefore, when the magistrate of Shangzhou takes office, the first step is to pay a visit to the City God Temple and the Confucius Temple, and the second step is to pay a visit to the Shi family.
Suddenly, a luxurious carriage stopped in front of the door, and a middle-aged man walked straight forward without any intention of stopping.
When the disciple saw him, his attitude instantly became friendly: "Mr. Zhou, you are here!"
"Stop talking nonsense and take me to see your master."
The man, wearing a light blue robe, stepped forward without stopping.
In front of him, one person was in a hurry to report, while the other person was leading the way very quickly.
Soon, Shi Yu, the head of the Shi family, heard the news, cleaned up briefly, and met him directly.
"Brother Zhou, why are you here?"
Shi Yu dusted off his wrinkled white cotton robe and greeted him with a smile on his face.
"Humph, Brother Shi, our families have been married to each other for generations. It can be said that there is no distinction between you and me. Even when Chuang Wang entered Shaanxi, we all shared the same hatred and never fell behind. Why has it changed now?"
Zhou Qi's face was full of displeasure, he picked up the teacup and took a sip, then put it down heavily, spilling some tea.
"Where do you start talking about this?" Shi Yu was caught off guard, his face full of innocence.
"Hmph, your Shi family has great magical powers and good information, and is better than the Jin Yiwei in Shangzhou, but our Zhou family is not a vegetarian either."
Zhou Qi sneered, clasped his fingers and said, "First of all, in the past half month, your Shi family has silently hoarded nearly 10,000 shi of food."
"Secondly, you have also collected a large amount of medicinal herbs. Even King Chuang can't rob your family. I'm afraid it's more than 100,000 kilograms..."
"Okay, okay!" Shi Yu waved his hands hurriedly and said with a wry smile: "Brother-in-law, you are asking knowingly!"
"Brother-in-law, if I didn't tell you, you would still have to pretend to be stunned!" Zhou Qi snorted coldly and said dissatisfied:
"Although our Zhou family is not as good as your Shi family, we are not blind. Now we have a lot of grain, salt, herbs, and cloth, which can be used to reward His Highness King Yu."
"How many people know about this?"
Shi Yu frowned.
"Who in the entire Shangzhou City doesn't know the news about King Yu's journey north?"
Zhou Qi shook his head and said nonchalantly: "Even the magistrate pretends to be deaf and mute and stays in the government office every day to enjoy himself. He has long since ignored the rest."
Hearing this, Shi Yu sighed and said with a wry smile: "That's all, our Shi family cannot afford such a huge feat."
"That's right!" Zhou Qi smiled: "You Shi family eat meat, we can also drink some soup, right?"
Shi Yu had no choice but to nod.
As one of the many people in Shangzhou, whether it was Shaanxi merchants or Huguang, he had a wide network of contacts. He had long known the news that King Yu would enter Shaanxi from Wuguan, so he prepared for a long time.
As a member of the imperial examination family, he naturally would not seek the interests of merchants. What he valued more was the future of King Yu.
The bet is that King Yan will be second.
In this way, the Shi family can be considered prosperous.
"In this case, if there are too many people, the merits will not be enough."
Shi Yu smoothed his long beard, narrowed his eyes, and said in a deep voice:
"It's better to unite everyone's efforts and dedicate Shangzhou..."
"Shangzhou?" Zhou Qi was stunned. This offended King Chuang to death. It was a desperate move!
"How can you do this without thinking about the future?"
Shi Yu looked at his brother-in-law and couldn't help scolding: "How can you be half-hearted about such things in politics?"
Zhou Qi was silent.
As a merchant, he is indeed not as broad-minded as his brother-in-law.
"I'm here to personally persuade Zhizhou!"
Shi Yu raised his head and said.
From Wuguan to the north, there are Wuguan Post, Laofeng Post, Taohua Post, Dihua Post, Luoyuan Post, Sihao Post, and Shangzhou Post outside Shangzhou City.
Almost every thirty miles or so, there was a large post station to transport grain and grass from Huguang for the imperial court. The Battle of Hetao during the Wanli Period was to transport grain from Huguang.
Although Emperor Chongzhen abolished the post station, its foundation is still there, providing a resting place for merchants and travellers, as well as housing for the cavalry battalions.
When Li Jingwu and others arrived at Taohuayi, they could take a breath.
He hurried slowly along the way, and in less than two days he approached Shangzhou. It was really tiring, and the horse also lost weight, which made him feel bad.
"Commander, something is not right about this Taohuayi Station!!"
The deputy general Hou Gongji on the side could not help but move his eyes, sniffed, and said softly.
"Yes, it looks like there are a lot of people."
Looking from a distance, Li Jingwu frowned: "Are there many merchants gathering here? There can't be an ambush!"
"Send out scouts to find out more."
Immediately, several scouts rode away, and after a while they galloped back, saying loudly:
"The cavalry command, there are many merchants, scholars, servants, and a lot of wine and meat in the post station. They all say they are here to reward the king."
"Reward?" Li Jingwu was stunned.
Hou Gongji on the side was suspicious: "Isn't it a scam?"
"Won't."
Li Jingwu shook his head: "The surroundings are open and there are no ambushes. If we gather at the post station, we will have no place to escape even if we are set on fire. Even if we have water in our heads, we will not do it."
"Go, be careful, let's go and have a look."
As a result, the cavalry battalion quickly surrounded the inn, and then dozens of people walked out. They were gorgeously dressed, elegant and easy-going. At first glance, they were not military generals.
"Xia Tian is the magistrate of Shangzhou. I heard that Master Wang has arrived, so I came here specially to pay homage to His Highness the King of Yu. I also prepared a large amount of wine and meat to reward Master Wang."
The Zhizhou of Shangzhou has a big belly, and his words "Fang" are full of sincerity.
Although Li Jingwu was a military commander, he had a good emotional intelligence. He hurriedly helped him up and said with a smile:
"I am serving as the vanguard under the orders of the King of Yu. I never thought that the restoration of chaos in Zhizhou would be a blessing to the Ming Dynasty. I will definitely report it to the King of Yu——"
The governor immediately smiled and his position was saved.
"These are all sages in this state, especially this one, who is the head of the Shi family."
Shi Yubei introduced him and walked forward. When he saw the big man with a broad face and a full beard, he hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Student Shi Yu, I have met the general."
"To reward Master Wang, we have prepared fifty thousand shi of food and grass, and tens of thousands of catties of wine and meat..."
"Okay, great!"
Li Jingwu nodded and said appreciatively: "I can't waste a moment. I need to replenish some food and fodder before setting out on the road. Your Highness is at the rear, so you have to make more preparations."
With that said, the cavalry battalion replenished their food supplies and quickly set off on the road again, like a gust of wind.