At noon, the Chunming Gate of Jingzhao City was crowded with people and extremely lively. At this time, three travelers who had traveled a long distance came up the official road in the distance. All three of them were riding horses. The leader was about thirty years old.
He has thick eyebrows and narrow eyes, and is dressed in gorgeous clothes. He looks quite smart and capable. He is Xiang Kui, the nephew of Xiang Shengsheng, the head of the Xiang family, who was sent by his uncle to serve as an envoy to Jingzhao.
Xiang Kui took a boat to Shangzhou, rented three horses, and rode directly to Jingzhao, which lasted nearly a month. It was already the early winter in late November.
When you walk into Chunming Gate, you will be greeted by a majestic and majestic atmosphere, with wide streets, neat storefronts, and magnificent palaces in the distance, including numerous vehicles, mostly horse-drawn carriages. Donkey carts are rarely seen, including pedestrians.
The clothes are decent, even the hawkers wearing short clothes are full of energy and rosy. Xiang Kui sighed secretly, this is the atmosphere of the capital. Wherever the market is like Lin'an, it is withered and lifeless.
"Sir, look over there!" A subordinate pointed to a shop on the left side of the street.
Xiang Kui saw it clearly. It was a cabinet shop with a red roof. It looked like Baoji Cabinet Shop at first glance, but the brand changed to the No. 1 cabinet shop in Sichuan and Shaanxi. Xiang Kui sighed secretly. All Baoji Cabinet Shops in Jiangnan had closed down.
, the Baoji Ark Shop in the Yong Kingdom was directly annexed by the First Ark Shop, and the Baoji Shop that had been operating since the time of Emperor Taizong disappeared.
But Xiang Kui didn't come here for the Baoji cabinet today. The cabinet was just a personal possession. He came for the Xiang family and even the entire powerful family of the Song Dynasty.
Xiang Kui first found an inn to stay, and then he inquired and found Cao Mansion, which was Cao De's residence. Cao De had served as the governor of Taiyuan Prefecture before, and had just been transferred back to Jingzhao to serve as the Minister of War. The Xiang family had a good relationship with the Cao family.
Cao De's father, Cao Ju, gave Xiang Kui a letter of recommendation and asked him to come to Jingzhao to seek help from Cao De.
Not long after, Xiang Kui was led to the guest hall by the housekeeper. He took a sip of tea and heard a cough. Cao De walked in from the hall. Xiang Kui quickly stood up and said, "Brother Cao, do you remember my little brother?"
Cao De smiled and nodded: "You are Xiang Kui. When I left Lin'an, you were only a teenager. It has been more than ten years in a flash. Sit down quickly!"
Xiang Kui sat down, then took out Cao Ju's letter and handed it to Cao De, "This is Uncle Cao's letter!"
Cao De took the letter and said with a smile: "It's actually a letter from my father. Is it a letter from my family?"
"I don't know, little brother!"
Cao De asked the maid to serve tea again, and then he opened his father's letter and read it carefully. His face became serious, and he nodded and said: "His Royal Highness King Yong is going to Tongguan County for inspection in two days. Why don't you come with me tomorrow?"
Him, or we have to wait for him to come back."
Xiang Kui bowed and said, "It's better to choose the right time than the right one. Let's go in the afternoon! Father is still waiting for news from me!"
In the afternoon, Cao De met Yong Wang Chen Qing and reported to him about Xiang Kui. This was what Chen Qing expected. In fact, Chen Qing was waiting for their arrival.
"Does Xiang Kui only represent the Xiang family?" Chen Qingxiao asked.
"Looking at the meaning of my father's letter, it seems that it not only represents the Xiang family!"
Chen Qing nodded, "Bring him to see me!"
Not long after, Xiang Kui was taken to Chen Qing's official room. He saw Chen Qing, stepped forward and bowed and saluted, "Xiang Kui, a humble citizen, see His Highness King Yong!"
"You're welcome, please sit down!"
Chen Qing smiled and asked him to sit down, "A guard is coming in to serve tea!"
Chen Qing asked: "How is the situation in Lin'an now?"
Xiang Kui bowed and said: "Reporting to your highness, Lin'an is riddled with holes and in chaos. I wonder what specific situation your highness would like to know?"
"Tell me about Baoji Cabinet Shop!"
"Baoji has all closed down. Whether it is Yuezhou, Pingjiang Prefecture, Jiankang Prefecture, or Lin'an, the cabinet shops are in chaos. Countless people and businessmen come to withdraw money. If they can't get the money, the out-of-control people rush to the store.
They entered the cabinet shop, beat, smashed, robbed, and burned. I don’t know how many private treasure houses were robbed, but the treasure houses of important people were taken away in advance, and we all got the news.”
"What do you mean? Is there any premeditation in the vandalism, smashing and looting?" Chen Qing asked in confusion.
"Reporting to Your Highness, this is actually a well-planned conspiracy. We heard from the big shopkeeper that the Plum Blossom Guards had taken the lead and emptied out many treasure troves, mainly the money saved by businessmen and local wealthy families, and then spread the news, triggering
The panic also triggered the final beating, smashing, robbery, and burning. Many scoundrels also took the opportunity to steal money. At most, more than 10,000 copper coins were robbed from several cabinet shops. The cabinet shops were all burned down. Plum Blossom Guards were dispatched to arrest and participate.
The people who robbed the money killed more than a hundred people. Of course, the money could not be recovered. There were too many people who robbed the money. In the end, nothing happened. The unlucky ones were all big customers. The whole responsibility fell on the Shi family and those who caused the trouble.
On the common people."
"What a trick!"
Chen Qing sneered: "Now he won't have to worry about military expenses!"
"That's right. After plundering the wealth of the Shi family and the cabinet house, they are now starting to expand their army. I heard that the first batch of troops will be expanded by 100,000 people."
"Then what do you mean?" Chen Qing asked again.
"Your Highness, the real estate and land prices in Lin'an continue to fall and commodity prices rise. We all believe that the imperial court is on the verge of collapse. More importantly, once the emperor tastes the sweetness of confiscating homes, he will not stop and will attack all families. We have to
Protect yourself.”
Having said this, Xiang Kui took a thick envelope from his arms and presented it to Chen Qing, "This is a joint allegiance letter from our thirty-four families. We are willing to be loyal to His Highness and support His Highness to replace the Song Dynasty."
Chen Qing has previously counted the dignitaries who currently support the Song Dynasty. There are thirty-one families in total. Unexpectedly, there are three more. This is the basic base of the Song Dynasty. In the first two years, the Jiangnan aristocratic families passed the imperial examination and elected officials.
The Yong Kingdom has already won the support of the Jiangnan family, and once the Song Dynasty dignitaries betray collectively, the Song Dynasty will really have no foundation."
Chen Qing took the letter of allegiance and read it over. It was filled with the signatures and fingerprints of each family head. It was densely packed and his attitude was very sincere.
Chen Qing nodded and said to Xiang Kui: "You want to keep your family's life and property safe, but there are conditions. You must know this!"
"We know, Your Highness, please speak out!"
If King Yong agrees without any conditions, they really can't believe it. Only if there are conditions is the true acceptance of allegiance, they are afraid that there are no conditions.
Chen Qing walked two steps with his hands behind his back: "I can't move the wealth accumulated in your treasury, but the land must be treated according to the rules of the Yong Kingdom. You must either obtain a title, fight for a distinguished officer, or obtain an official rank. Which level has how much?"
Land is clearly written down, and civilians can own up to five hectares of land. For you, there are two most convenient ways, either to donate food to the Western Army to obtain honorary officers, or to open a workshop and employ common people as
The number of people can also get the corresponding honorary officers, but the Shangzhu Kingdom with the highest honors can only get twenty hectares of land. Even if it reaches the title of Duke, it cannot exceed one hundred acres of land. Even I, King Yong,
The upper limit is only 500 hectares, so you have hundreds of hectares of land at every turn, which is absolutely not allowed."
Xiang Kui felt very heavy. In fact, they all knew that they might not be able to pass the land issue. He thought for a moment and said: "But as far as we know, Zheng Tongquan is only a county prince. Even including his son Zheng Ping, his family has the largest land limit."
There are only one hundred hectares, but according to Zheng Tongquan himself, his family has three hundred hectares of land. What is the reason for this?"
