The moon was thin and stars were thin, and apart from the patrolling Zhi Jinwu, no one could be seen on the streets of Chang'an.
A carriage drove out from Yongxingfang. It seemed that it knew the time and route of Zhijinwu's patrol. The carriage did not encounter Zhijinwu along the way and arrived at Shengyefang.
At this time, the square gate was closed and could not be opened. However, the coachman whispered a few words at the gate of the square, and the gate was opened.
The carriage entered Shengyefang quietly, and Fangzheng did not register.
The carriage came to the back door of a house, and the coachman knocked gently on the door. After a while, the door opened and the carriage was welcomed in.
"Didn't you say that our meeting would arouse His Majesty's vigilance? Why did you come over?" Hou Junji looked at Changsun Wuji and said.
Changsun Wuji said: "Don't worry, your majesty won't notice if I come here."
"Have something happened when you come here now?" Hou Junji asked.
Changsun Wuji shook his head and said: "It's nothing. I came here this time just to tell you that Your Majesty asked me to set off tomorrow!"
"So fast?" Hou Junji was a little surprised.
It seems that Li Shimin is very concerned about this matter, otherwise he would not be so anxious to send Changsun Wuji there.
Changsun Wuji said: "You don't need to think about this matter. I also know that there are border generals involved. Your Majesty, can you not be anxious?"
"I have always been puzzled. This matter was done very secretly. How did your Majesty find out?" Hou Junji asked.
If Li Shimin notices the abnormality after doing it for a long time, it still makes sense.
But not long after they started working together, Li Shimin noticed something. Could it be that there was a traitor?
But Hou Junji thought about it carefully and gave up this idea.
Changsun Wuji originally wanted to tell Hou Junji about Li Shimin sending people to sell salt on the grassland, but he thought of Lin Xuan and suddenly changed his mind and said: "This matter should be related to Lin Xuan. Before your Majesty summoned me, I had seen him before."
Lin Xuan."
"Lin Xuan? How did he know about this?" Hou Junji was a little confused.
"This is just my guess. I don't know how he knew it." Changsun Wuji shook his head. He said that this matter was related to Lin Xuan, and he wanted to use Hou Junji's help to get rid of Lin Xuan.
He and Lin Xuan had no grievances. After all, Lin Xuan was still his nephew and son-in-law.
But as Lin Xuan became more and more valued by Li Shimin, he felt a great threat.
Changsun Wuji didn't know that he hit it by mistake and guessed the truth of the matter.
This matter is indeed related to Lin Xuan. If Lin Xuan and Li Shimin hadn't said that they would sell salt to the grasslands, Li Shimin would not have known about it.
"If I have a chance, I must kill him." Hou Junji said coldly.
What happened last time has already caused my head to be ridiculed by many people.
Regardless of whether Lin Xuan did this or not, he would not let Lin Xuan go if given the chance.
Changsun Wuji knew that Hou Junji had murderous intentions, and he was happy in his heart, but his face remained calm.
"Brother Auxiliary Machine, I have always wanted to ask you a question." Hou Junji said.
Changsun Wuji said: "What's the problem?"
"Why did the auxiliary machine brother choose to cooperate with me? Although the 20% profit is not cheap, the auxiliary machine brother should not take it seriously, right?" Hou Junji asked.
The Changsun family is the Queen's family. Not to mention Li Shimin's reward, the Changsun family's business alone earns a lot of money every year.
The most important thing is that Changsun's family also has an iron smelting workshop, which is the most profitable.
Changsun Wuji smiled bitterly and said: "If I don't cooperate with you, can you let me come back during this border patrol? Besides, who cares about having too much money?"
"Haha~, Brother Auxiliary Machine is just kidding." Hou Junji said with a smile.
Changsun Wuji smiled and said nothing. Apart from the reason he said, the other reason was to win over Hou Junji. Of course he would not say this nod.
"Brother Auxiliary Machine, since I like money, I have an idea to make more money. I wonder if Brother Auxiliary Machine is interested?" Hou Junji said.
Changsun Wuji asked: "What business?"
"Chang Sun's family has an iron smelting workshop, and what is most lacking in the grassland is iron. Compared with salt, iron earns more." Hou Junji said with a smile.
Changsun Wuji's expression changed and he said: "No, this is absolutely not possible. This is a capital crime!"
He dared to get involved in the salt matter because he knew that even if Li Shimin found out about it in the end, he would not do anything to him or the eldest son's family.
At most, I won't trust him as much as before.
And if he dared to sell the iron to the grassland, he would be discovered by Li Shimin.
Not only him, but also the entire eldest grandson family will be in disaster.
He did all this to make the Changsun family stronger. How could he risk the Changsun family?
"Brother Fuji, isn't it a capital crime if His Majesty discovers the salt thing? It's a capital crime anyway, so what are you afraid of?" Hou Junji looked at Changsun Wuji and said.
Changsun Wuji said decisively: "I will definitely not sell the iron to the grassland. If you insist on such a request, I will not be involved in the salt matter."
Hou Junji said quickly: "Brother Auxiliary Machine, don't worry, I just want us all to make more money. Since Brother Auxiliary Machine doesn't agree, then forget about it."
"I will set off tomorrow. You can check the arrangements yourself. It is best to make the arrangements more realistic. Otherwise, your Majesty will not believe it and sends others to investigate. You will not blame me then." Changsun Wuji said.
Hou Junji nodded and said: "Brother auxiliary machine, don't worry!"
"It's getting late, I'll go back first." Changsun Wuji said.
Changsun Wuji sat in the carriage with a gloomy expression.
He now regrets his involvement in this matter. At first he thought that with the help of this matter, he could easily control Hou Junji.
However, things were a little beyond his expectation, and Hou Junji was not so easy to control.
On the contrary, Hou Junji wanted to control him in turn.
He has now waded into muddy waters, and it is too late to regret now.
"Then let's have a fight and see who is better." Changsun Wuji murmured to himself.
…
Early the next morning, Li Shimin canceled the morning court and took the civil and military ministers to see off Changsun Wuji personally at the city gate.
"Auxiliary machine, the border officers have worked very hard. You have to reward them on my behalf this time." Li Shimin said.
The name of this border patrol is to reward the soldiers. No matter what, you still have to pretend.
Changsun Wuji raised his hands and said, "Yes, I will definitely not forget your Majesty's instructions."
"It's getting late, let's go." Li Shimin said.
Li Shimin led the ministers of civil and military affairs to see Changsun Wuji off, but Lin Xuan did not participate.
He was meeting the steward sent by Li Shimin at home.
"Little He Xinmin, I have met the Marquis!" He Xinmin saluted.
Lin Xuan waved his hand and asked: "How many people did you bring in total?"
"Back to the Marquis, a total of two hundred people are still in the palace, waiting for the Marquis to dispatch them!" He Xinmin said.
Lin Xuan nodded, told He Xinmin the address, and asked him to arrange for these people to dig a hole first.
"Yes! I wonder if the Marquis has any other instructions?" He Xinmin asked.
"When the pit is almost dug, we will arrange for people to buy more shrubs," Lin Xuan said.
"Yes!" Seeing that Lin Xuan had no other instructions, He Xinmin resigned and left.
After He Xinmin left, Lin Xuan also became busy.
He needs to prepare a potion that can speed up the decay of plants.
Papermaking technology in the Tang Dynasty was already very developed.
If he wanted to quickly produce paper, he had to make some improvements in the process, and the most important thing was to rely on this potion.
…
"Sister, Lin Xuan has taken over a piece of land and has now asked people to dig holes. He has also arranged for some people to buy shrubs. I don't know what he wants to do." Cui Zhifeng told Cui Yuxiu the information he found.
Cui Yuxiu said in surprise: "He prepared these, apparently because he wanted to make paper."
"Papermaking? He wants to make paper to compete with the Wang family?" Cui Zhifeng asked.
Cui Yuxiu said: "Looking at his current preparations, it does seem like he wants to make paper. I don't know whether he is."
"He doesn't think that the paper he makes can compare with the Wang family's, right?" Cui Zhifeng said with a smile.
Papermaking is not a secret. Although not everyone knows it, there are many people who know it.
Why can the Wang family occupy Datang's share?
It's because the paper produced by the Wang family is better than other people's paper.
He didn't think Lin Xuan's papermaking could be better than the Wang family's.
Cui Yuxiu said: "We will know after a while whether it can be compared to the Wang family."