Not long after Li Kuo and Shen Liniang finished chatting, the housekeeper of the mansion came to report that Mr. Yang Xuan had invited him to come to the mansion for a chat.
Li Kuo was obviously not mentally prepared for Yang Xuan's sudden invitation. If Yang Xuan's last banquet invitation was a routine courtesy, what was it for this time?
After thinking for a moment, the young man decided to talk to the government. He thought that this must be the instruction of his father Yang Zhao. Smiling to himself, the young man felt a sigh. This Yang Zhao was hesitant in doing things and did not even have the courage to invite him to discuss important matters. No, in the end, he has to borrow his son's hand. Working with such a person, the young man is quite helpless. But at this time, only the Yang family will form an alliance with him, and the young man seems to have no better choice.
Yang Xuan's house is also in Qinrenfang, which is not far from the new house he purchased. Under the guidance of Yang's servants, the young man passed through the gate of the house, walked through the verandah, and walked around the rockery. After a while, he arrived at the house in Yang's house. There was a small room outside the back house. This small room was Yang Xuan's study. Li Kuo thanked the servant and walked into the study.
The room was not big, but it was elegantly decorated. At this time, Yang Xuan was preparing the invitation. When he saw Li Kuo coming in, he quickly put down his paper and pen, stepped forward and said, "General Li, long time no see."
Li Kuo also hugged his fists and replied with a polite word. He didn't like Yang Xuan very much. The young man always felt that Yang Xuan, like his father, had a very philistine temperament. It's not that Li Kuo claimed to be noble, he was just a young man. I feel that everything is less humane if it is linked to interests. Secondly, Yang Xuan also likes to play with power, but he only knows a little about power.
The consequence of this is that those who play political tricks will make things messy and unable to end.
If the young man was asked to name a member of the Yang family that he had a favorable impression of, it would probably only be Yang Huahua, the wife of Guo State. Although Yang Huahua was also very shrewd, she was kind-hearted and kind-hearted. Compared with her brothers, she might not be considered the most popular one. Be a good person.
But now that he is cooperating with the Yang family, the young man has to be forced to change himself. This is a rule, there is no right or wrong.
"I wonder what Mr. Yang is calling me for?" Li Kuo nodded to Yang Xuan and smiled slightly.
"Can't we chat with General Li if we have nothing to do? Can't we have tea with General Li if we have nothing to do?" Yang Xuan half-squinted his eyes, waiting for Li Kuo's answer.
Seeing that the young man was stunned on the spot, Yang Xuan laughed loudly and said: "General Li, I just made a joke to you. To be honest, I invited General Li here this time because we really have something important to discuss."
"Oh?" Li Kuo narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke in a deep voice.
"Pa!" "Pa!" Yang Xuan patted twice, and then a servant of the Yang family pressed the two tied men in. Without waiting for Yang Xuan's instructions, the servant kicked the two men hard at the knees. The two of them naturally fell forward in pain and knelt down in front of them.
They were all wearing only plain-colored single clothes, with several bloody whip marks on their backs. Their fluffy hair covered their shoulders and back, looking extremely greasy and dirty. Both of them had a ball of burlap stuffed in their mouths. At this moment He was whining and howling, but he couldn't make out what he was saying.
Li Kuo never judged people by their appearance, but after seeing the two of them, he couldn't help but lose his appetite.
Yang Xuan smiled at Li Kuo and said, "Master Li, do you still remember these two people?"
Li Kuo took a closer look and realized that these two people were not businessmen Huangfu Chendong and Helan Rongxia who were drinking in Yixianju?
Why did the two of them appear in Yang Xuan's house, and why did they look so embarrassed?
As if seeing the doubts in the young man's heart, Yang Xuan waved his hand and explained: "General Li must be wondering why they are in my house. To be honest, after that banquet, I sent people to keep an eye on them and investigate their
True identity. Within three days, a servant from the government came to report that these two people were the two shopkeepers of Huiyuan Warehouse." (Note 1)
"Oh?" Li Kuo was surprised. How could he not hear the name of Huiyuan Warehouse? As one of the few warehouses recognized by the Tang Dynasty court, their branches were all over the Tang Dynasty. Whether they were crossing the Yanshan Mountains,
Whether traveling north to exchange goods with the Khitans and the Xi people on the grasslands, or crossing the vast desert, heading west to Yangguan to make huge profits in the Western Regions, rest and recuperation along the way are unavoidable.
If you are an official, you can naturally live in the court's inn and enjoy extremely high-quality services. But for those traveling merchants who are busy with work and just want to sell their goods at a good price as soon as possible, they obviously cannot enjoy the services provided by the court.
Benefits for officials. For them, they can either choose to sleep in the wilderness or stay in a warehouse.
Any caravan with a certain reputation will usually choose to stay in a warehouse. Firstly, the places where the caravan passes will inevitably be infested with horse thieves, and camping in the wild is not safe. Secondly, if people and horses are exhausted during long distances, staying in a warehouse can be a good way to make a difference.
Rest will be helpful for the next trip.
Naturally, Li Kuo had a deep understanding of this. He was once ordered to escort ordnance to Hexi, and the young man also had a brief period of contact with the young and old men of the Jiyuan caravan. These merchants who spoke with a southern accent and a northern accent would take a long trip.
It took half a year, and you can imagine how tiring the journey was.
Therefore, the warehouse came into being as a matter of course, and became the link that traveling merchants relied on most on the long business road. Unlike inns, warehouses only accept caravans, not individual travelers. The more famous warehouses even only accept some famous ones.
Famous business names, such as the Jiyuan Caravan led by Brother Guan.
Huiyuan Warehouse obviously falls into this category.
However, since they were warehouse owners, why did Yang Xuan kidnap them and lynch them? Why did he have trouble with the two merchants? The Yang family's power in the capital has reached such a level that they can kidnap people at will?
With a cold snort, Yang Xuan sneered disdainfully: "They are indeed merchants, but they have a traitor in their head. Does General Li know that their Huiyuan Warehouse has recently been collecting ironware and hoarding it, intending to take the opportunity to sell it to the big cannibal at a high price?"
.”
"What?" Li Kuo exclaimed. The Tang Dynasty court strictly prohibited the trafficking of ironware. Although the warehouses could be used to store and sell goods on consignment, they were not allowed to hoard ironware privately. Once such important materials as ironware were obtained by the enemy, the consequences would be disastrous.
After thinking for a moment, Li Kuo frowned. Not to mention Helan Rongxia, Huangfu Chendong left a deep impression on him. Whether it was words, deeds or gestures, he looked more like a young man determined to serve the country. How could he
Actively hoarding iron tools to sell to cannibals?
"Master Yang, can you remove the sackcloth from their mouths?"
"Yes." Yang Xuan nodded, and a servant of the Yang family stepped forward and pulled out the linen cloth from their mouths.
"Bah!" Huangfu Chendong spat out a mouthful of thick phlegm, which shot directly to Yang Xuan's feet. Although he was tied up, he had no intention of surrendering.
"You are a dog official, with a red mouth and white teeth, you are so cruel to frame others!"
Yang Xuan was startled at first, and then said angrily: "You are so bold and unruly, how dare you disrespect the imperial officials, come on, slap me!"
Two burly men squeezed over and slapped Huangfu Chendong in turn. In the silent room, the crackling sound of the slaps was very harsh. By the time Yang Xuan shouted to stop, the corners of Huangfu Chendong's mouth were already bloodshot.
"Dog officer, dog officer..." Huangfu Chendong stared at Yang Xuan and sneered, seemingly not frightened by Yang Xuan's violence.
"You, keep beating me, drag him out and beat him with a paddle! Such a unruly man will be beaten to death!" Yang Xuan was furious and wanted to ask someone to drag Huangfu Chendong out and kill him with a cane.
"Wait a minute!" Li Kuo quickly pushed his hand to stop him. "In my opinion, I'm afraid there is another hidden story in this matter. If Lord Yang beats someone to death like this, wouldn't it be an injustice to the innocent? Besides, even if the two of them are guilty, they should be handed over.
It is not appropriate to use lynching for trial at the Jingzhao Prefecture."
Although Yang Xuan was annoyed with Li Kuo's troubles, after thinking about it carefully, this was also the truth, so he waved his hand and glared at Huangfu Chendong and said: "I will let you say it, let's see what comes out of your dog's mouth!"
"Thank you, General Li!" Huangfu Chendong licked away the blood from the corner of his mouth and nodded slightly at Li Kuo in thanks.
"This dog officer sent people to follow us after that banquet. Although Brother Helan and I had discovered it, we didn't report it to the official because we wanted to avoid causing trouble. Who would have thought that this dog officer was so crazy that he sent people to kidnap us?
Come on... Brother Helan and I went out to do some shopping that day. When we walked to an alley, a dozen servants suddenly rushed out and knocked the two of us unconscious. When I woke up, we were in front of this dog
The official's house was hit."
"Master Yang, is this true?" Li Kuo turned around and asked loudly.
"General Li, don't listen to their nonsense. I already have sufficient evidence in my hands. They are hoarding iron weapons privately and intending to do evil!" Yang Xuan waved his hand and explained loudly.
"I asked yes or no." Li Kuo's tone had turned cold and he repeated it again.
"General Li, I was convinced when I gave the order..." Yang Xuan seemed not to have heard what the young man said and defended himself.
"Let me say it for the last time, yes or no?"
"Hey, yes, yes! I ordered it, okay?" Yang Xuan spread his hands and snorted. In his opinion, what's wrong with ordering people to go to the streets and kidnap a few suspects? This General Li, who cares?
It's really too wide.
Li Kuo shook his head. Unexpectedly, the law seemed like a decoration in the eyes of the Yang family. Unexpectedly, their power had reached the point where they could do whatever they wanted!
"Huangfu Chendong, please tell me what happened again."
Sighing, the young man stared at Huangfu Chendong who looked resolute and said slowly.
Note 1: The warehouse here specifically refers to the shops that provided accommodation, storage and sales of goods for merchants in the Tang Dynasty. It is equivalent to the "Yaxing" in later generations.
ps: Why did Yang Xuan kidnap the two of them? Do they have any plans to sell the iron to the big cannibal?
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