Liu Ziqiu smiled and said: "Liu runs the army very strictly, and no one under his subordinates dares to say a word! Don't worry, as long as the Li family doesn't say it themselves, who knows what the connection is between Liu and your Li family? From now on, you will
It was announced that Liu's army suddenly invaded Xiangwu City, killed Yu Wenhua and his brothers, and took Yu Wenhua, his civil and military officials, Yang You, and a number of palace maids and eunuchs as captives to the west. Longxi County was left without an owner for a while.
You just let Mr. Li take the post of governor."
When Yu Wenhuaji occupied Longxi Palace, he tightly blocked the news that Queen Xiao was still alive. Even most of the maids and eunuchs in Longxi Palace did not know about it. Naturally, Liu Ziqiu kept it secret and could not tell the Li family.
Li Changshan pondered: "This can be a way to deal with it. But if Yang Xuangan's army marches all the way west, how can the Li family remain neutral?"
"Haha, haha. Liu believes that this little thing is not easy for the Li family." Liu Ziqiu smiled and waved his hand, "Besides, Yang Xuangan's target is not staring at the west now. I guess the old lady also knows it."
The ability of a great family to stand for thousands of years without falling has its own merits. Judging the general trend of the world is a compulsory course for these great families. If they were not convinced that Yuwen culture was difficult to achieve great things, the Li family would definitely not
Will choose to cooperate with Liu Ziqiu, this is very clear to Liu Ziqiu. Liu Ziqiu knows even better that as a small person from a humble background, it may be difficult for him to enter the eyes of these thousand-year-old families. In their eyes, he may be just a temporary substitute. In their minds
The real master might be Yang Xuangan or Li Yuan. But Liu Ziqiu doesn't care about the Li family's real thoughts. This is just an exchange of interests. He uses the Li family to contain Yang Xuangan and buys time to lay a solid foundation for himself, and the Li family can also use this.
The opportunity to completely control Longxi. Liu Ziqiu, the Li family and even Yang Xuangan should be able to accept this outcome. If the Li family cannot keep Longxi neutral and form a buffer between Hexi and Guanlong, then the Li family is not qualified
It is called a big family.
Sure enough, when Mr. Li heard this, he laughed and said, "Since Mr. Liu thinks so highly of our Li family, I dare not obey your orders!"
Liu Ziqiu cupped his hands and said, "Everyone, Liu has something to ask me."
If Liu Ziqiu refuses to evacuate Longxi, and even continues to send troops to attack the surrounding counties of Longxi, then the Li family and Liu Ziqiu will be completely tied together, just like the situation when the Li family helped Yu Wenji. Now Liu Ziqiu takes the initiative to withdraw his troops, which is equivalent to giving
The freedom of the Li family also gave the Li family a second choice. They could choose to continue to cooperate with Liu Ziqiu, or they could choose to seek refuge with Yang Xuangan, and the space for manipulation immediately increased. Of course, with Mr. Li's shrewdness, he could only choose to sit on the sidelines.
The possibility is higher. However, all prerequisites are based on Liu Ziqiu's withdrawal.
Who is willing to spit out the fat in his mouth? In the past, the Li family did not dare to have such extravagant hopes. Now, Liu Ziqiu has taken the initiative to give the Li family hope. Old Mrs. Li really wishes Liu Ziqiu had left early, so he naturally agreed to what he proposed:
"Master Liu, please tell me, the Li family will definitely spare no effort!"
Liu Ziqiu smiled and said: "When the late emperor was here, he sent more than a dozen caravans to the west. Now these caravans have returned. They are on the way from Xiping to Jincheng and will soon enter Longxi. From Longxi to
Liu will ensure their safety in this section of the West Sea, but from Longxi to the east, there may be many obstacles along the way, so I have to ask the old lady to clear it for convenience!"
"The caravan is back?" A look of surprise flashed across Mr. Li's face, and he immediately regained his composure. He nodded and said, "At the beginning of the year, there were indeed more than a dozen caravans gathering in Longxi, with hundreds of large vehicles.
, it’s so spectacular, I didn’t expect to finally come back today.”
Merchants are at the bottom of the stream, especially in the eyes of aristocratic families. In fact, most important trade routes are in the hands of aristocratic families. After all, given the conditions of this era, organizing a caravan involves sources of goods, vehicles, customs clearance documents, etc.
For many matters, it is necessary to deal with local governments and guard against possible bandits and bandits. Without the backing of a powerful family, any caravan will be in dire straits.
For aristocratic families, others often only see their superficial appearance, but do not know how much expenditure they need to maintain such a reputation. For example, in today's banquet, the gold and silver wine vessels used are worth a lot of money, and those accompanying them
Girls who drink, sing and dance are also raised at home since childhood. They choose from thousands of choices and have all kinds of sexual intercourse, so that they can show off in front of guests. With such a big family property, it is also necessary to prevent others from thinking about it, and it is necessary to have more guards.
It is indispensable, and it is also a huge expense. It also covers the expenses of local governments, which is also not a small amount. As for the food and drink expenses for a large family of several hundred people, it is second.
The Li family lives a lavish life every day. The income from the land alone can no longer meet the needs of the family. The Li family naturally has several caravans of its own, and the largest one is the dozen or so caravans that went to the West at the beginning of the year.
Among the teams, sending the largest caravan to the west was controversial among the entire Li family. However, the two old brothers Li Changshan and Li Changfeng were surprisingly consistent on this matter, so they used the Li family's caravan.
A lot of resources. Unexpectedly, the entire caravan was gone for more than half a year, and there was no news since then. Li Changshan and Li Changfeng were anxious in their hearts, but on the surface they had to keep calm. Now that the caravan is back, not only Li Changshan, but also Li Changfeng are happy.
He raised his eyebrows, but Li Changshan didn't want Liu Ziqiu to see his inner thoughts.
"Yes, they are all back. Although a lot of manpower has been lost, everyone has made a lot of money. If those Western goods are shipped back to the place, the value will increase dramatically."
Liu Ziqiu seemed not to notice Li Changshan's joy, and said calmly, "This trade route has made money, and more caravans will travel between the East and the West in the future. If the old lady does this well, his merits will be immeasurable.
It will also be of great benefit to the Li family’s future.”
Li Changshan's eyes lit up. In the past, the West Sea was controlled by Tuyuhun, and the trade routes to the west were cut off for many years, so Longxi was no longer important. In fact, Longxi is also the only way for caravans to pass through, and now Longxi will be all controlled by Tuyuhun.
The Li family is in control. If they manage it well and use it skillfully, the Li family's status among the seven major families will rise significantly. He couldn't help but nodded and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Liu, I will coordinate all parties before tomorrow summer to ensure the smooth flow of trade routes."
!”
Of course he understood that this trade route was equally important to the West China Sea.
But Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said: "You don't have to wait until next summer. Liu has already opened markets and shops in Weiding City. Many businesses can be done this winter and next spring. If you have any connections, I would like to help introduce some businesses."
The team goes to the West Sea, otherwise the market that Liu worked so hard to build will not look good."
Although the aristocratic family is a whole, everyone has their own interests. Just like Li Suran, these cousins probably have their own businesses. However, the scale of their respective businesses cannot be too large to maintain a family.
The caravan went to the west. But as long as Liu Ziqiu had Hexi Road firmly in his hands, their small caravan could reach Weiding City smoothly.
The West Sea is rich in cattle, sheep, horses and all kinds of furs. There is another thing that is also in short supply, and that is green salt. For the Mobei grassland, the most lacking is salt and iron, but the West Sea wasteland does not lack salt, only iron. On the contrary
The quality of green salt produced in the West Sea is much higher than that of sea salt. In the Central Plains, only high-ranking officials can enjoy it. Iron is a commodity strictly controlled by the imperial court. Even though Xihai, Heyuan and other counties have been included in the territory of the Sui Dynasty, they are still strictly controlled. However,
In addition to the lack of iron, Xihai also lacks many things, such as cloth, silk, and various medicinal materials, which Liu Ziqiu urgently needs. It is not illegal to traffic these things to Weiding, but it solves Liu Ziqiu's big problem.
It has also prospered the economy of the West Sea, and these small caravans can also obtain several times the usual benefits. It can be said to be a win-win situation.
Sure enough, Li Suran and others all looked happy. After a long while, Li Suqing put away his smile and pretended to be reserved: "Since Mr. Liu has a destiny, I should do my best. I will go visit my relatives and friends today."
Old friends, let’s see if anyone is willing to take a trip to the West Sea, I believe you won’t disappoint Mr. Liu.”
Liu Ziqiu then nodded, bowed his hands to everyone again, and said: "Then Liu will take his leave. I leave everything to you. Please stay!"
Having said that, the old brothers Li Changshan and Li Changfeng still insisted on sending Liu Ziqiu out of the gate. As Liu Ziqiu was getting on the horse, Li Changfeng asked in a low voice: "Looking at Mr. Liu's age, he must not be over thirty yet."
Li Changfeng's question was a bit abrupt, but he had white beard and hair. If Liu Ziqiu's identity was excluded and he was just a junior in front of him, it would make sense for him to ask this question.
Liu Ziqiu knew what Li Changfeng meant and said with a smile: "Liu is indeed in his late thirties, but he already has a family and a career."
There is absolutely no reason for a top-notch family like the Li family to let their own granddaughter be a concubine. Liu Ziqiu just wanted to cut off Li Changfeng's thoughts.
Li Changshan had already seen through his eldest brother's mind. Looking at Liu Ziqiu's retreating figure, he snorted coldly, rolled up his sleeves and entered the house. If nothing else happens, Li Changqing will be his successor. But who will be the successor of Li Changqing?
Succession was a family matter of the Li family, but Liu Ziqiu successfully intervened in the family affairs of the Li family by appointing Li Jian as the governor of Longxi. This made Li Changshan very unhappy. Li Changfeng did not get a response from Liu Ziqiu, but Li Changshan was still a little proud.
At this time, Li Changfeng was also silently calculating in his heart, how far can Liu Ziqiu go? If Liu Ziqiu just wants to settle down in a corner, then his granddaughter will definitely not be able to be his concubine. But if Liu Ziqiu, Yu Wenji, Yang Xuangan and others
He was just as ambitious and could succeed, so it wouldn't be a disadvantage if Mingyue followed him. Li Changfeng patted his head lightly, and he was destined to be unable to sleep tonight.