Chapter 907: On the Eve of the Second Northern Xinjiang Battle
In the end, due to Emperor Wei's acquiescence and connivance, Li Liang, the Minister of Household Affairs, had no choice but to compromise and turn a blind eye to the Su Chamber of Commerce.
It has to be said that there is no shortage of talents in Wei State. No, in a short period of time, the second, third and more chambers of commerce quickly appeared in the country, such as the Tao Mutual Aid Chamber of Commerce established by Tao Hong, a native of Song County, and the Anling Chamber of Commerce.
The Wenjiezi Chamber of Commerce established by Shaobo Renwen.
For a time, many chambers of commerce in Wei State seemed to have sprung up one after another.
But for these so-called chambers of commerce, Li Liang, the minister of household affairs, actually doesn't care, because the transportation capacity of these chambers of commerce is very average. Although some chambers of commerce also own fleets, how can the carrying capacity of those small boats be compared with the largest one in Wei State?
Are they comparable to Class A merchant ships?
It has to be said that the biggest threat to the Ministry of Household Affairs is still the Su Chamber of Commerce.
Because behind Su's Shangshui is Su Wang Zhao Hongrun, and Su Wang Zhao Hongrun is in charge of the Smelting Bureau, and the Construction Department under the Smelting Bureau is currently the only one that can build Class A ships.
This means that as long as the Su Chamber of Commerce is willing, they can form a huge fleet of ships for the Huhu Department at any time.
In this regard, Li Liang could only discuss with Zhao Hongrun again to limit the size of Su's Chamber of Commerce's fleet.
Zhao Hongrun thought about it for a while and finally agreed to Li Liang's request. After all, for now, the Su Chamber of Commerce is indeed stealing food from the Ministry of Household Affairs, which is also damaging the national interests in disguise, so it is indeed too much.
not good.
Although the Su Chamber of Commerce is currently restricted, it does not matter, because as long as the Liang-Lu Canal is completed and Qi and Lu join the trade route between Wei, Sichuan and Chu, the single household department will not be able to digest the huge markets of Qi and Lu.
, the restrictions on Su's Chamber of Commerce are naturally unnecessary.
Because of this, the King Su Party did not aggressively recruit local nobles. Firstly, the fat on the plate is not enough for many people to share. Secondly, in the country recently, the momentum of King Yong and King Qing is quite strong.
, so not everyone among the nobles in the country is optimistic about King Su.
Generally speaking, most of those who choose to defect to King Su are some of the second-rate nobles in the country. They do not want to become ministers of the dragon, but purely for financial gain.
As for those big aristocrats and aristocratic families who were able to influence public opinion, they were still more willing to defect to King Yong, or King Xiang and King Qing.
However, the third uncle Zhao Laiyu was already very satisfied with this. After all, under his persuasion, Zhao Hongrun was gradually changing his attitude towards the nobles and was finally willing to share some benefits with the latter.
For now, this is enough. If it goes too far, it will easily arouse the vigilance of King Yong, King Xiang, and King Qing.
It has to be said that the third uncle Zhao Laiyu is one of the few people who hopes and attempts to push Su Wang Zhao Hongrun to the position of king of Wei.
On the evening of the fifth day of August, when Zhao Hongrun returned to Prince Su's Mansion, he was surprised to find a distinguished guest in the palace, namely the eldest son of the Shen family in Huangyi, the eldest brother of Concubine Shen Shu, and the uncle of Zhao Hongrun and Zhao Hongxuan, Shen
thread.
"Uncle?"
When Zhao Hongrun saw Shen Xu in the study room of the palace, he was really surprised.
To be honest, the relationship between uncle Shen Xu and Zhao Hongrun was not very close, but because of Concubine Shen Shu, when Chen Xu came to Daliang to visit his sister Concubine Shen Shu every year, he would always bring some gifts, including to Zhao Hongrun.
gift.
Therefore, although Shen Xu was not very close to Zhao Hongrun, because he managed to keep a bowl of water balanced, he did not treat Zhao Hongrun differently because he was his sister's adopted son. Therefore, Zhao Hongrun had a very good impression of this uncle.
In Zhao Hongrun's impression, his uncle Shen Xu was also a reserved and face-saving person. As for Zhao Hongrun, who gradually showed his prominence in the court and the public three years ago, in order to avoid other people's irresponsible remarks, Mr. Shen of Huangyi, I gradually reduced my visits to Daliang, from two or three times a year to once a year.
Especially in the year when Zhao Hongrun conquered Sanchuan and opened up Sanchuan trade, Shen Xu simply did not come to Daliang. He waited until July of the following year, when Zhao Hongrun compromised and opened Sanchuan to the domestic nobles. He secretly came to Daliang. If Concubine Shen Shu hadn't mentioned it afterwards, Zhao Hongrun wouldn't even know that Shen Xu had been here.
I have to say that this made Zhao Hongrun feel a little funny. At the same time, he also had a higher opinion of the Huangyi Shen family who had very strict family rules, despite the fact that he did not have much contact with the Huangyi Shen family.
"When did uncle arrive in Daliang? Have you ever visited my mother and concubine?"
Zhao Hongrun invited Shen Xu to the side hall of the mansion and ordered the servants to prepare wine and food.
Shen Xu heard this and smiled and said: "I arrived in Daliang at noon today. After entering the city, I went straight to the palace. I met with Concubine Shu and told her about the family affairs. Concubine Shu asked me to come and pay homage to Your Highness in person. Express gratitude.”
Just by looking at the fact that Shen Xu addresses his biological sister as Concubine Shu and his nephew as His Highness, you can tell what kind of character this person is.
At least Zhao Hongrun found dealing with this uncle quite tiring.
"Uncle, haven't I told you many times, you can just call me Hongrun." Zhao Hongrun scratched his forehead and said with some distress.
"The etiquette cannot be discarded, the etiquette cannot be discarded." Shen Xu waved his hands repeatedly.
Zhao Hongrun shook his head helplessly, then changed the subject and asked: "Uncle, when I come this time, Huangyi must have been well-arranged, right?"
Chen Xu nodded and said with a somewhat serious expression: "Since receiving His Highness's letter, the family has purchased several shops facing the street in Huangyi, which have been opened a few days ago..."
"Congratulations." Zhao Hongrun smiled and cupped his hands, but Shen Xu's expression looked a little embarrassed.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun guessed what his uncle was thinking and said with a smile: "Uncle, I'm just trying to help you. You don't have to think too much about what others will think of you." After a pause, he added : "In fact, I should have helped you a long time ago, but I didn't show any pretense to the nobles in the country at the beginning, so I didn't... I hope uncle will forgive me."
"Your Highness is serious." Shen Xu said with a serious face.
Dealing with this uncle is really tiring...
Shaking his head secretly, Zhao Hongrun had no choice but to change the topic again: "Uncle arrived in Daliang today, are you going to stay for a few days?... Why don't you just stay in my house for a few days?"
Hearing this, Chen Xu smiled and said: "I appreciate His Highness's kindness. I had already found the inn when I arrived in Daliang, so I won't disturb you..."
"How could this be a disturbance?" Zhao Hongrun was really helpless.
But he was not surprised. After all, Shen Xu and the Huangyi Shen family had always avoided such things. They did not want others to think that they were clinging to their daughter Shen who was sent to the palace, or their nephew, who was now famous in the country.
After exchanging a few words, Shen Xu finally revealed the reason for coming to Daliang this time.
It turned out that Shen Xu had received a letter from his sister Shen Shufei. Shen Shufei hoped that her mother's family could help her son Huan Wang Zhao Hongxuan, who was currently in the Beiyi Army Camp in Anyi County, Hedong County.
Therefore, Shen Xuming will set off for Hedong County the day after tomorrow.
…
Hearing this, Zhao Hongrun was slightly stunned.
He really didn't know about this matter, at least Concubine Shen Shu didn't mention it to him, so Zhao Hongrun thought that Shen Xu came here specifically to express his thanks.
But after thinking about it, Zhao Hongrun understood the reason why Concubine Shen Shu did this.
After all, a while ago, after Zhao Hongrun and his younger brother Zhao Hongxuan had a falling out because of the North First Army incident, one said you should just deal with it yourself, and the other said I don't need my brother's help. In short, the two brothers were in a quarrel. , so that Concubine Shen Shu was a little helpless in the middle. After all, the palms and backs of her hands were full of flesh, so she couldn't say much.
So, she had no choice but to secretly write a letter to her natal family, asking her natal family, the Shen family in Huangyi, to help her.
"Have uncle and Xiao Xuan exchanged letters?" Zhao Hongrun asked with a slight frown.
"Not yet." Chen Xu shook his head.
Zhao Hongrun thought for a while and said: "The First Army of the North was originally an army controlled by the Donggong Party. Now that the East Palace has fallen, the First Army of the North has no one left. It is indeed a good opportunity for Xiao Xuan to take charge of the army, but... the strength of this army It has a bad reputation.”
"I heard." Shen Xu nodded, and then added: "I also heard from Concubine Shu that His Highness Prince Su originally planned to let His Highness Prince Huan build his own army, but it's a pity..."
"Xiao Xuan's temper is too stubborn." Zhao Hongrun frowned, and then he glanced at Shen Xu, and after thinking about it for a while, he said: "Uncle, if you go to Anyi tomorrow and the day after, if there is someone there with Xiao Xuan If you need anything, you might as well tell me, but don’t let Xiao Xuan know about this matter."
"Yes, I understand." Shen Xu nodded, feeling vaguely relieved.
I'm afraid he also feels that this matter is very stressful. After all, the Shen family in Huangyi has no connections at all in terms of military equipment. How can he help his nephew Zhao Hongxuan who is in Anyi?
Zhao Hongrun even suspected that when Concubine Shen Shu invited Shen Xu to Daliang, she just wanted to ask Shen Xu to seek some help from Zhao Hongrun. After all, Concubine Shen Shu was really not able to speak out.
Zhao Hongrun didn't have any bad feelings about this. After all, he regarded Zhao Hongxuan as his own brother, so how could he really stand by and watch? It's just that the two brothers had a serious quarrel a while ago, and he couldn't get off the stage.
But now that Shen Xu is acting as a middleman, Zhao Hongrun naturally wants to help Zhao Hongxuan, at least in terms of military equipment. As for what kind of army he can build the Northern First Army into, it depends on Zhao Hongxuan himself.
On that day, Zhao Hongrun entertained Shen Xu warmly in the palace.
The next day, Shen Xu left Daliang and went to Hedong County.
Throughout August, Zhao Hongrun only paid attention to four things: the exhibition of Su's Chamber of Commerce, the training of Youma Heavy Cavalry, the construction of Liang Lu Canal, and the situation of his younger brother Zhao Hongxuan in the Northern First Army.
In the blink of an eye, it was September, and the farmland in Wei State gradually began to be busy with harvests. At this time, the situation in northern Xinjiang became tense again.
Everyone knows that Wei and Han did not cease the war. When South Korea chose to withdraw its troops, it was just because there were some problems with logistics and food. But now that the autumn harvest is coming, there is no guarantee that South Korea will use troops against Wei again.
Sure enough, on the fourth day of September, the Korean army marched out of Shangdang County and launched another attack on Hedong County.
After learning about this incident, Zhao Hongrun immediately ordered Zongwei to contact Ma You of the Youma Army to prepare the latter to rush to northern Xinjiang.
In the second Wei-Korean Northern Border Battle, Wei will form the strongest lineup to date to participate in the war!