In the afternoon of the next day, Guo Song took two followers to wander around Jincheng County. He liked to visit privately incognito. In fact, it was not a private visit. He just went shopping and bought some small gifts for his children. In his heart, he still liked the free life of civilians.
Of course, in his position, it is normal to take the opportunity of shopping to understand the public sentiment and inspect the market.
The business in Jincheng County is far less prosperous than that in Zhangye, but it is not deserted either. There are many restaurants and inns, and it is not divided into cities like Chang'an. The shops are mainly concentrated on both sides of the main street.
There are many restaurants and inns among the shops. This is also because most caravans cross the Yellow River from Lanzhou and usually rest in Jincheng County for two days.
In addition, there are many shops selling bulk goods, such as oil, cloth, spices, grain, sheepskins, livestock, etc.
"Go and have a look at this store!" Guo Song found a rather unique store that seemed to sell a variety of exquisite handicrafts.
Guo Song walked into this small shop, which was at most thirty square meters. There were several rows of shelves in the middle, filled with a variety of dazzling gadgets.
Tinware and silverware from Persia, pearls and shells from Japan, as well as knick-knacks popular in Chang'an at that time, clay figurines, wood carvings, rattles, etc.
The shop owner is a middle-aged man in his forties, who looks gentle and elegant. When he saw customers coming into the shop, he came over and said with a smile: "The new shop is open. You can choose whatever you want. I have a good price."
"Has the store just opened?"
"Yes! I originally opened a shop in Yangzhou, but my father passed away, so I had to close the shop and return to my hometown to observe mourning and open a small shop to make ends meet."
"No wonder, you can't see these things in the Western Regions." Guo Song pointed at the gadgets on the shelf and smiled.
"What do you like, Master?"
"I'm buying some gifts for my wife and children."
Guo Song picked up a tango snail, a conch and a nautilus, which are relatively rare conchs. He also picked up a few small shells of various colors and said with a smile: "Sea shells like these, the colors
It’s beautiful, I bought it, my daughter likes it, but I don’t know what to buy for my son?”
"Your Majesty, are you active or quiet?" the middle-aged man asked with a smile.
“Relatively quiet!”
"If you were quieter, I would give you this!"
The middle-aged man took down a box from the top and opened it. Inside was a pen washer made of a complete tortoise shell carving. It was very beautiful. The middle-aged man smiled and said: "This is a good thing. I have been reluctant to take it out.
I only took it out because I saw that the young master knows the goods."
Guo Song liked this tortoiseshell pen washer very much. He happily said: "I want this. What else is good?"
"I have a lot of good stuff, sir, take a look at this again!"
The middle-aged man opened another box, and inside were five fat boys carved from white jade. They were as white as jade, but the carving skills were very good. The five fat boys were carved lifelike and full of richness, implying the coming of five blessings. Guo Song's heart moved.
You can give it to Minqiu, she likes it.
"I want this too."
The middle-aged man saw a big customer and bought it without even asking the price. He quickly took out a brocade box from the back room and said, "Sir, look at this. It's my collection. It's the best pearl necklace. Every pearl is round and shiny."
, Young Master likes it, so I’ll give it to you.”
........
Guo Song was also shocked when he finally paid the bill. He actually spent more than a thousand guan. However, he knew that the other party did not ask for a high price. A pearl hairpin as big as a longan alone was worth at least a hundred guan. That string of pearls
The necklace is of the highest quality and in excellent condition. What’s even more rare is that each bead is of the same size, with a diameter of about 1.5 centimeters.
There is also a model of Sanjin House made of fine sandalwood, with dozens of little figures carved out of the wood. This is a gift for my son.
The middle-aged man wiped out the fractions of more than one hundred guan for Guo Song and settled the deal with the whole amount of 1,000 guan. Everyone was happy.
Returning to the county government office, Pan Liao hurriedly came to greet him and said: "Your Majesty, the reply from Chang'an has arrived!"
Arriving so soon? Guo Song ordered his soldiers to send the things back and walked into the county government hall.
"How did Zhu Si reply?"
Pan Liao smiled and said: "As we expected, Zhu Si agreed immediately and was willing to exchange heavy armored infantry equipment for Xiao Guan."
"Where's the trade treaty?" Guo Song asked again.
"It seems that only a few items of embargoed materials have been added, and nothing else has changed. We agree to use Hexi money and old money to settle the matter."
Guo Song nodded, "In this case, the armistice contract can be signed. Tomorrow you and Zhang Guangsheng will finalize the details, and then I will sign the seal."
"I understand the humble position!"
Pan Liao hesitated and asked again: "Your Majesty, the contract lasts for three years. Isn't it too long?"
Guo Song calmly said, "This so-called contract is only for gentlemen and not for villains. If the situation calls for it, I will never refuse to be a villain for once."
...........
The next morning, Pan Liao and Zhang Guangsheng held final negotiations. The two sides finally reached an agreement on the armistice contract. The two sides agreed that the northern section would be bounded by the Great Wall and the southern section would be bounded by Longshan. The Xiaoguan occupied by the Hexi Army would be occupied by the Northern Tang Dynasty.
Thousands of sets of Modao Army equipment are redeemed, and the agreement period is three years. If any party violates the agreement, the agreement will be void.
Guo Song immediately appointed Liang Ju'er as the garrison envoy of Huizhou and ordered him to lead his army to garrison Huizhou.
Xiaoguan, according to the agreement reached between the Hexi Army and the Northern Tang Army, Xiaoguan will be officially handed over to the Yuanzhou Garrison three days later.
That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high. More than a dozen black figures appeared under the city wall outside Xiaoguan. The leader was none other than Liang Juer. In three days, Xiaoguan was to be handed over to the Tang army. According to the requirements of the Jiedu Envoy,
Leave a little chance for the next attack on Xiaoguan.
The leading general was Liang Ju'er, and the other dozen soldiers were soldiers from the firearms battalion.
They came to the eastern section of the city wall, looking for opportunities to discover during the day. There were many people and it was difficult to start during the day, so they had to wait until night to operate.
Xiaoguan was built with large green bricks and was rebuilt by Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty during the Sui Dynasty. After more than a hundred years, it is still solid and solid.
"Here!" Several soldiers found the big blue brick during the day.
The green bricks were a little loose. Liang Juer shook the bricks and immediately said: "Do it!"
The soldiers worked together and used iron drills to pry off several pieces of the city wall. The inside of the city wall was filled with soil. They dug out a lot of the filled soil to form a large cavity and filled it with a very strong large wooden box.
The large wooden box supported the surrounding soil, and they stuffed the city bricks back and filled the surrounding gaps with soil. If they didn't pull the city bricks outward hard, they would never find that these pieces of the city wall were loose.
Everyone planted a shrub under the city wall as a sign so that they could easily find the city bricks.
Three days later, Liang Juer led three thousand soldiers to leave Xiaoguan and stationed in Huizhou. Thousands of Northern Tang troops waiting on the official road entered Xiaoguan again, completing the exchange of Xiaoguan.
At the same time, another handover was completed outside Longshan Pass. The Northern Tang Army handed over a thousand sets of Modao Army equipment to the Hexi Army. Both sides implemented the armistice agreement, and the three-year armistice agreement came into effect.
.........
Three days after the armistice contract was signed, Guo Song returned to Zhangye and handed the gift to his wife. He was unable to sit on the recliner and relaxed all over.
At this time, Min Qiu walked into the study with a cup of tea.
Generally speaking, the inner study is the last private place of the male owner. No one is allowed to enter easily, not even his wives and concubines. However, Guo Song's inner study is not so particular, and his wives, concubines, and children can enter at will.
.
Min Qiu twisted her waist, sat in her husband's arms, put her arms around his neck and said coquettishly: "You haven't even kissed your relatives when you came back!"
Guo Song put his arms around her neck and kissed her hard. Min Qiu was so kissed that her whole body softened. After a while, she lay in her husband's arms, bit his ear and whispered, "Husband, I also want a child."
"It's not easy to have a baby, let's go! Let's go upstairs."
Min Qiu was so frightened that she stood up quickly and said: "No! Not now! Madam will be angry and say that I am inconsiderate of my husband. Besides... I have something to do with my husband!"
Guo Song also knew his wife's temper, soft on the outside and strong on the inside. If she knew it, Min Qiu would inevitably suffer. He restrained the fire in his heart, picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, and asked with a smile: "What do you want from me?"
?”
"It's...it's about my brother."
Minqiu's brother Zhang Daqi currently lives in Guzang County, Liangzhou with his wife and two children. Guo Song gave them a small house with three acres. Minqiu also gave them thousands of dollars he had saved. Their lives have completely changed.
, Guo Song would try his best to help them, but he was afraid that they would become rich and poor for a long time, and would not know the importance and make unreasonable demands.
Guo Song asked gently: "What is the specific matter?"
"My brother came to me before and proposed that he wanted to be an official. I scolded him severely. Now he has changed his mind and wants to do business. He asked me to help him give him ideas on what kind of business is better, but how did I know?
?”
Guo Song smiled and said: "Doing business! It's nothing more than lifestyle-oriented and enjoyment-oriented. If you want to make money, you can't break away from this framework."
“What is the enjoyment of food, clothing, housing and transportation?”
"It's very simple! Jewelry and jade are an extension of clothing, and entertainment of sound and color is actually an extension of food. If you want to live in a garden or a house, you want to travel more comfortably, etc."
"Then what can my brother do?"
"I think it would be good for him to open a restaurant. The location should be better chosen and the quality should be higher. I will buy the government-owned Liangzhou Restaurant and give it to him. If he does a good job, he will surely make a lot of money."
Min Qiu was moved, and she leaned into her husband's arms and whispered: "Husband, why don't you go upstairs! I will try my best to be scolded by my wife."
At this moment, I suddenly heard voices coming from outside, "Let's ask dad to comment. Whose gift is it for?"
Min Qiu was so frightened that she quickly stood up.