After Xiao Zhuo retreated, Wang Xi immediately said to Yunxi: "Your Majesty, why did you choose this person to recruit other merchants? The servants dare not say anything, but why does your Majesty need to personally talk to this little businessman? Although your Majesty told him not to
It is said that His Majesty told me, but I may not be sure."
Wang Xi was very worried about his emperor. He had served Yunxi for so many years, and he had also learned some words to make it easier to organize bookcases and manage the palace. He knew that when the emperor and ministers talked about money, they would be criticized by the officials, but at least they could barely accept it.
But speaking directly to the merchants and ordering merchants to accompany the army exceeded the bottom line set by the ministers for the emperor.
"I don't feel at ease if I don't tell him directly about this matter." Yunxi explained: "I sent out trustworthy people to talk to the merchants. If I don't leak the secret at all, the merchant won't believe it. To gain trust, they will inevitably leak the secret, so it's better.
I will tell you personally."
"But in order to win the trust of other merchants, Xiao Zhuo still leaked out that it was His Majesty's will to recruit merchants to accompany the army. Although His Majesty is not in the capital, officials will still come to give advice and even send memorials to His Majesty's location."
Wang Xidao.
"It doesn't matter, I have already found the person who issued this order. Li Jian, the deputy commander of the Annan army, will take charge of this matter, and Zhang Wen will also acquiesce, and the matter will not fall on me."
"The silk with these words written on it that I just gave to Xiao Zhuo was also signed by Li Jian. It was not my will or edict." Yunxi said.
How could Yunxi take the initiative to undertake such a big thing as talking to merchants in person and setting up merchants to accompany the army, and not be attacked by civilian officials? Now is not a critical moment when the country is about to be destroyed. He must find someone to take the blame.
Of course, Yunxi would not sacrifice the person who took the blame like some emperors in the late Ming Dynasty, so that no one would be willing to take the blame for the emperor in the future. Zhang Wen just acquiesced, and he was a noble man with outstanding achievements in the Ming Dynasty.
Feng's officials will not target him. Most of them will target Li Jian as their main target.
When Yunxi was fighting, he would ignore the advice of the ministers on the grounds that "a war is imminent and it is not appropriate to change generals on the battlefield." After the war was over, the ministers would probably not be most concerned about the businessmen who accompanied the army. By then, they would be punished casually.
He will be able to fool the matter. Yunxi will also find a reason to give him a title to appease him.
"Then why didn't His Majesty let him recruit merchants to talk about this?" When Wang Xi was stunned, Li Shaer, who was sitting next to Yunxi, suddenly asked.
"Li Jian is reluctant to meet the merchant in person. Besides, I don't feel confident about him either. I'm afraid that he will mess up the matter." Yun He said again.
After explaining the matter clearly, Yunxi winked at Wang Xi and returned to the cabin with Li Shaer in his arms.
After Yunxi had gone far away, Wang Xi immediately said to several young eunuchs serving nearby: "You must not reveal what happened today! If I get wind of it, I will throw you all off the boat to feed the fish!"
…
…
"...Brother, this is what happened. Li Jian, the deputy commander of the Annan army, and Governor Li, asked me to get on the ship and gave him the order." In the courtyard of the Xiao family in Jiaxing, Xiao Zhuo was sitting across from Xiao Zhuo, who was sitting on the side.
Someone at the main seat said.
"Brother, since the news brought back by Lao Qi, it cannot be false! Lao Qi can deceive outsiders, how can he also deceive his own family! Regardless of whether other families believe it or not, we will gather all the big ships at home and go to Annan.
Make this big deal." said an equally strong man sitting next to Xiao Zhuo.
"Yes, brother, since Lao Qi said he saw Governor Li with his own eyes, he can't be lying." Another person said.
People in the room were all talking about their opinions. Although they were different, they all thought it was worth a try. But slowly, their voices gradually disappeared, and everyone raised their heads and looked at the person sitting in the main seat.
That person.
The man sitting on the main seat looks to be about forty years old. He is very ordinary in appearance and not tall in stature. Compared with Xiao Zhuo, he is very thin. Everyone present looks much more like a leader than him, but
This person is Xiao Qiao, the patriarch of the Xiao family in Jiaxing.
Xiao Qiao sat in his seat, waited until everyone was silent, and then said: "Seventh brother, did you really see Li Jian with your own eyes, and not just one of his officials?"
"I did meet Li Jian in person!" Xiao Zhuo nodded.
"How could such a big official discuss with you the recruitment of merchants to accompany the army? Even if he had this intention, he would not give the order himself." Xiao Qiao said.
"Because this matter was ordered by a bigger figure." Xiao Zhuo said.
"A bigger person? Bigger than Li Jian? Who could it be?" Xiao Qiao was stunned, and then guessed: "Could it be Mr. Zhang?"
"According to Li Jian, he is bigger than Lord Zhang." Xiao Zhuo said.
"Is he older than Mr. Zhang? Can he still be the emperor?" Someone suddenly interrupted.
"That's what Li Jian means." Xiao Zhuo said calmly.
"What! Is it really the emperor? I just said it casually." The person who interrupted just now opened his mouth in surprise and lost his voice.
The others were not much better than him, and they all spoke loudly to express their surprise. Although Xiao Qiao, who was sitting in the main seat, did not say anything loudly, he was also splayed on the chair and did not know what he was thinking.
After a long while, Xiao Qiao came back to her senses and said to Xiao Zhuo: "Is what you said true?"
"Anyway, that's what Li Jian meant." Xiao Zhuo said.
After another long while, Xiao Qiao said again: "Although it sounds like a story, it actually makes sense. Because this matter was ordered by the emperor, Li Jian did not dare to let the officials below handle it.
I will give you instructions personally. It makes sense why I came to you. You have been among merchants and pirates in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Green Forest. You were probably found out and they found you. So this matter is probably true."
"Our family has done this deal." Xiao Qiao finally said.
He immediately ordered: "Second brother, go and sell all the goods that can be sold as soon as possible. Going to Annan to buy the trophies of the big-headed soldiers will definitely not be possible by bartering. They can only be bought with gold, silver, copper coins and treasures. Big-headed soldiers are all
The bumpkins probably don’t realize how much our treasures are worth, so they will sell them all and exchange them for gold, silver and treasure banknotes. Take as much as you can. Remember to find a remote place to exchange treasure banknotes at the lowest price.”
"Lao San, are there any generals in our family who are familiar with this army? If you are familiar with them, please find some connections as soon as possible."
"Fourth Brother, bring along all the people who have done business with the big-headed soldiers before. These big-headed soldiers may not be easy to talk to, so you have to be careful."
…
"Lao Qi, go and call all the boats our family can bring back to gather together, and then we will head to the sea off Annan together."
Xiao Qiao finally said to them: "According to what Lao Qi brought back, the army will start fighting in October, and there will probably be spoils of war in November. We have to hurry up, or we won't be able to eat the first course.
Brothers, please go and get busy. Lao Qi is staying here, I have some things to ask him."
The brothers present agreed and left the room. Soon only the two of them were left in the originally very lively room.
Xiao Zhuo moved his body, changed to a more relaxed posture, and asked lazily: "Brother, is there anything else you want to ask?"
Xiao Qiao did not answer immediately, but walked down from the main seat, sat next to Xiao Zhuo, looked at him carefully again, and then said: "Old Qi, although what you just said sounds okay, but I always
I think you are hiding something."
"Brother, how could I deceive my brother?" Xiao Zhuo said with a smile.
Xiao Qiao suddenly laughed loudly, laughed for a while and then said: "Lao Qi, if you hadn't spoken like this just now, I'm not sure if you were hiding something; but when I heard you smile like this just now, I understood,
You must be hiding something."
"You have been like this since you were a child. You would smile like this when you lied. At first you were the least likely to be spotted by your uncles, but later every time we got into trouble while playing together, our uncles would always ask you what happened.
"
Xiao Zhuo scratched his head and then said: "I did hide some things from everyone, but I have to hide it. It won't do any harm to the family. But since the eldest brother asked, I will..."
Just as he said this, Xiao Qiao suddenly interrupted: "You don't have to say it, brother believes in you. And since you don't say it, there must be a reason not to say it. But remember, since you don't tell your family, you can find someone else."
You can’t say that even when you are a businessman.”
"Brother, I know."
After finishing these words, Xiao Zhuo thought of something else and asked: "Brother, why don't I stay at home for a little longer and wait for our own fleet to be formed before we go find others?"
"No need." Xiao Qiao said with a smile: "Not to mention our family, even the merchants in the entire Zhejiang Province may not be able to eat the spoils obtained by the 600,000-strong army attacking Annan. Not only should you not delay, but you should do it immediately.
Let’s go find those families that have a good relationship with our family and have a big meal together. Remember, when doing business, everyone makes money, unless the business is too small to accommodate the second person.”
"I understand, brother. After dinner, I will go find someone familiar with our family." Xiao Zhuo said.
"Go ahead."
…
…
"Clan leader, someone from the Xiao family came and said there is a big business in Annan?" Yan Xiu, a member of Yan Zhenzhi's clan, said to one person in surprise.
"Yes, Xiao Zhuo came over and said that there was a big deal in Annan, and he was buying spoils from the imperial army. It was Governor Li, the deputy commander of the imperial army's expedition to Annan, who ordered him to recruit, what, yes, merchants who accompany the army." The patriarch.
said.
"Is this true? Can a high-ranking official of the imperial court do such a thing?" Yan Xiu said still in disbelief.
"He showed us a piece of silk with Governor Li's signature on it," the clan leader added.
"Why don't you hurry up and go to Annan to make money? If you finish going, you won't be able to make a lot of money!" Yan Xiu said, and was about to leave.
"But what if Xiao Zhuo is talking nonsense? Even if he is not talking nonsense, what if he changes his mind when he comes to the Annan court? Wouldn't it be a waste of time?" said the patriarch. He was also talking about the concerns of most people in the entire family.
"It's just a trip in vain! How can you do business and make money without taking risks! Besides, now that our family has some capital, we can survive even if this trip is in vain!" Yan Xiudao.
However, the patriarch who told him about this still had a hesitant look on his face. Yan Xiu shouted: "Where is the energy to risk using borrowed money to do business in Fusang! Our family is not yet in a position where we can earn a steady income from business."
When it comes to money, if you don’t take risks, maybe you’ll be back to where you were in a few years!”
The patriarch was finally persuaded by him and said: "Then our family will do this business!"
