The journey was uneventful, with stops and starts. Since it was winter and the weather was freezing, we stayed in hotels many times and spent a lot of time on the way. It was only on the fifth day that we approached Hangzhou. Although there was a snowy scene outside, Xue Poye looked at it
Looking at the familiar scene, I still feel comfortable.
Xiao Shitou had obviously never been to Jiangnan, so he was very excited when he saw the elegant buildings and houses, which were very different from the solemn atmosphere in Kyoto. He kept asking the Green Lady all the way, and she spent a lot of time with Xiao Shitou.
It was very harmonious, and it was fun to give guidance along the way.
Seeing that it was half a day before arriving in Hangzhou, the car slowed down. Xue Poye stopped at a restaurant on the roadside and had some hot soup and hot water before getting back on the road.
As we approached the city of Hangzhou, we discovered that there were many more carriages and horses on the road. Most of the carriages were luxurious and beautiful, and most of the riders were rich young men in rich clothes and furs. Occasionally there were some civilian scholars walking,
But it's very little.
These people were marching towards the city of Hangzhou. The noble princes seemed to be very arrogant, and they would always make fun of the scholars who were walking on foot.
What Xue Poye heard the most was the sentence "Toad eats swan meat".
As for the riders of the rich family at the same time, when they met, most of them looked at each other angrily, like enemies.
This made Xue Poye very confused. At first, when he saw many scholars, he thought there was another examination held in Hangzhou. However, he saw that there were even many warriors with swords among them, which obviously had nothing to do with the literati examination.
As Xue Poye's team moved forward, passers-by gave way. Everyone in the field of vision still had this point. Seeing the Yulin guards wearing heavy armor, they all knew that the people in the car were not ordinary people, and no one dared to provoke them easily.
As for the more obvious ones, after seeing the identity of the Habayashi Guards, they also knew that the Habayashi Guards were the Royal Guards. They came from Kyoto, and they often gathered together to discuss something in low voices.
Not long after, Xue Poye's team arrived outside Hangzhou City. The accompanying guards came to the window and reported: "Sir, there are many officials waiting outside the city. I wonder if they are to welcome you!"
Xue Poye frowned. His visit to Hangzhou this time was considered quiet. How come the officials in Hangzhou knew about it?
The carriage stopped in front of the city gate, and Xue Poye got out of the carriage. He saw more than a dozen officials, big and small, waiting in front of the city gate. The one at the front was suddenly He Ruhui, the prefect of Hangzhou.
When He Ruhui saw Xue Poye, he immediately put on a smile and walked towards him quickly, cupping his fists and saying, "Master Xue has worked hard all the way, hard work!"
Xue Poye was shocked in his heart, but his face remained calm. He clasped his fists and returned the greeting: "Master He has always been kind, but we haven't seen each other for a while." When he left Hangzhou, Xue Poye was a citizen and an official in the Confucian Association.
Now that he has returned, Xue Poye has become an important member of the imperial court, and even the Viscount of Da Chu. The world of life is truly ever-changing and unpredictable.
Of course, He Ruhui was shocked and sighed in his heart, but at this moment, he showed the absolute humility and flattery of a local official to a Beijing official, and said repeatedly: "Yes, yes, after Lord Xue left, the official
I miss Sir Xue every day, and I think it is a great honor to be able to see Sir Xue's face again during his official business trip."
Xue Poye laughed, took He Ruhui's arm, and said in a friendly manner: "We are all our own people, so there is no need to be polite."
He Ruhui was flattered, with a smile on his face and a bit of pride. He immediately led Xue Poye to meet other officials, including magistrates of various counties in Hangzhou Prefecture and several military attachés stationed in Hangzhou.
The officials were just flattering each other, and Xue Poye kept smiling as he saw them one by one.
"I am here under the orders of the Holy One to see you all. You all should perform your duties and serve the country with all your loyalty. The Holy One knows it."
The imperial court will not let you down!"
All the officials said together: "We swear to be loyal to the imperial court to the death and live up to the great kindness of the Holy One."
Xue Poye wanted to go back to Xueyuan earlier to see Yue Zhu and the others, but socializing in official circles was indispensable. After all, these people still had to rely on them to raise money this time.
He Ruhui asked people to take Green Lady and Yu Linwei to the post house to rest and arrange food and accommodation. Xue Poye only left two Yulin guards with him. Who would have thought that this time it was a coincidence, He Ruhui arranged
The reception banquet was held in Han Garden, which was very useful to Xue Poye. Such official entertainment was all held in Han Garden, which shows that Han Garden's influence in Hangzhou is really strong now.
Xue Poye and He Ruhui took a car together, and other officials took their own cars, and headed to Han Garden in a grand manner.
Looking at the familiar scenes outside from the window, even though it was winter, Hangzhou was still bustling and lively. Xue Poye sighed in his heart. After all, the prosperity of Jiangnan is really not in vain.
"Your Excellency, you are now a Viscount. You hold an important position and have a bright future. It's really gratifying!" He Ruhui lost no time in expressing his humility, his old face smiling like an orange blossom.
Xue Poye smiled faintly. At this time, he and He Ruhui were the only ones, so he didn't care to say a few words to build a relationship. After all, He Ruhui was the top leader in Hangzhou, and his roots were also in this place. The most important thing was,
So far, in terms of interests alone, the two of them are getting along very well. For the sake of interests, it is worthwhile to give He Ruhui some sweeteners. Wen Yan said: "Master He, I have always taken care of you when I was in Hangzhou at night. This kindness will be broken."
The night will never be forgotten."
A look of surprise flashed in He Ruhui's eyes, and he said repeatedly: "You're welcome, Sir, it's really an honor for me to serve you. If Sir, if you say that again, you're being disrespectful."
Xue Poye chuckled, leaned in the carriage, touched his nose and said: "If it is true as Sir said, when Poye can achieve his great ambitions, the one thing he dare not forget is Sir He, from now on...!" Suddenly he waved.
He waved his hand and said with a smile: "No more talking, as long as you and I both understand."
He Ruhui understood that he wanted to promote himself, and hurriedly saluted: "My Lord, He Ruhui will not dare to forget his kindness."
"Just being able to say a few words in front of the Holy Master is nothing!" Xue Poye laughed while touching his nose.
Being able to say a few good words in front of His Majesty the Emperor means that there is no need to worry about being promoted to an official position. Looking at the young and handsome lord in front of him, He Ruhui felt that he had really taken the right path in the first place and acted with a brave and loyal attitude.
He said, "Your Majesty is the reborn parent of Xiaguan. I will do whatever it takes to support you."
Xue Poye saw that the clichés were almost finished, and the intimacy that should be shown was reached, and then he said slowly and authentically: "Master He, your news is quite accurate. I didn't inform you of my visit to Hangzhou this time, but you did
How did you know that I was going to Hangzhou today and why I was waiting outside the city? This... hehe...!"
Although He Ru said this when he met Xue Poye, there was no blame on his face. He was relieved and smiled softly: "Sir, my subordinates also know a little bit about the affairs in the court. Recently, there has been a sudden sudden change in the court.
A young and promising talent emerged. He won the favor of the Holy One and was entrusted with important responsibilities. At that time, the official did not know that it was you, the lord. Later, I heard that the imperial court sent an official from the Ministry of Revenue out of the capital to raise money, and the lord
Sir was coming to Hangzhou, so I sent someone to inquire about it. His appearance was quite similar to that of Sir Alex, so I made some guesses, but I didn’t want to know if it was really Sir Alex, so I asked about the date of Sir Alex’s arrival and where he was in the city.
Welcome outside."
Xue Poye pondered for a moment, then suddenly sneered: "So Master He has been paying attention to my whereabouts?"
When He Ru met Xue Poye, who had been smiling just now, his expression suddenly changed. He panicked and said hurriedly: "I don't dare, no... I don't dare, it's just... just to be able to welcome the Marquis in peace, the Lord must not
Blame.”
Xue Poye knew that to deal with people like He Ruhui, a smile is not enough. It requires a combination of kindness and power. At least He Ruhui understands that I, Xue Poye, also have a temper, and I have to be a little more taboo when doing things.
"That's it!" Xue Poye smiled faintly, touched his nose and said, "That's why my lord has bothered."
He Ru smiled when he saw Xue Poye, and said as if he had done something good: "Sir, I heard that you are here to raise money, and I have already made some preparations." After saying that, he took out the booklet from his arms and held it with both hands.
Xue Poye stood in front of him and said respectfully: "Sir, this is a list of wealthy merchants in the three states in the south of the Yangtze River. I have sent people to investigate. Everyone has a fortune. Sir, you can raise donations according to the names above."
Xue Poye was stunned, then he quickly took the list with a smile, nodded and said: "Master He, this matter was done well. You are sincerely helping me, I will keep it in my heart." When he opened the list, the first one was Yangzhou.
The Fang family, followed by the Qiao family in Suzhou, the Lu family in Hangzhou, and below that is a list of names, totaling hundreds of people.
Xue Poye thought in his mind: "There are hundreds of people here. Ten thousand taels per household is equivalent to a million taels. It seems that our country of Chu is really rich and has no shortage of money." From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of He Ruhui's expression flickering, slightly.
He frowned and asked, "It's all here, nothing missing?"
He Ruhui was startled, seeing Xue Poye staring at him sharply, and said hurriedly: "No... no, all the merchants with a wealth of over ten thousand are... all here."
Xue Poye sneered in his heart: "***, you and I are doing this. The list seems to have a lot of people, but it is definitely underreported. Maybe the old guy He Ruhui has collected a lot of money and transferred some merchants to
The name has been crossed out."
Many merchants knew that it would be difficult to pass this test when the imperial court was running errands to collect donations. They didn’t know how much money they would have to pay to report their names. It would be better to spend a sum of money to get He Ruhui. In this way, it would be difficult if their names were not reported.
There is no need to raise funds, and spending a small amount of money can save a lot of money. Businessmen still have this idea.
Xue Poye closed the book and said with a faint smile: "Master He, in that case, please help me with something."
"Sir, please tell me, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!" He Ruhui sat upright, patted his chest and said: "Sir, Sir, I know that there is nothing that I, He Ruhui, can't do in Hangzhou."
Xue Poye waved his hand and said with a smile: "There is no need to go through fire and water. I just want to trouble Sir He to summon all the merchants from Jiangnan to Hangzhou. I want to entertain them. You can invite them in the name of the user department. I guess no one dares not to
Come."
"The Ministry of Household Affairs manages the merchants all over the world. They dare not disobey!" He Ruhui said immediately, but he felt a little strange. Didn't he come here to collect donations this time? He should lead the soldiers to ask for money one by one. Why does Lord Xue still want it?
A banquet for a cheap businessman?
Xue Poye smiled and said: "Let's do this quickly, send more people, and let all the merchants gather in Hangzhou for a banquet in ten days. By the way, Mr. He, you have to read this list of merchants carefully, but
Don't leave anyone out. Don't let anyone say that we won't give him a chance to be loyal to the court. The most important thing is...!" She suddenly came closer and said with a smile: "Master He should know that businessmen all know the details of businessmen.
We all know which merchants are well-financed. If we omit a merchant and are found out, or if we submit a document to the court saying that we have acted unfairly, we will be reprimanded by the Holy Emperor."
He Ruhui's forehead was sweating, his head was nodding like a chicken pecking at rice, and he kept saying: "Yes, yes, I will investigate carefully, no... I won't miss it!"
"That's right!"
He Ruhui was startled and immediately said yes.
While they were talking, the motorcade arrived in front of the Han Garden. Since it was an official banquet, the Han Garden was cleared, and there were soldiers guarding it all around, making it appear very quiet.
Lao Song was standing in front of the door, greeting guests humbly. He suddenly saw Xue Poye getting off the carriage, wearing the official uniform of an official from the Ministry of Household Affairs. He was a little stunned. He wiped his eyes and was sure it was Xue Poye. He was filled with surprise.
He quickly came up to us and said happily: "The shopkeeper... you... you are back!"
Seeing his true feelings revealed, Xue Poye was obviously thinking about him all the time, and was moved in his heart. He only felt that the people following him were very affectionate. It seems that the sentence "Those who are close to Zhu are red and those who are close to Mo are black" really have no meaning.
Wrong, he patted Lao Song gently on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, you are always good?"
"Okay!" Lao Song wiped away a few tears that fell from the corners of his eyes and said: "The manager of Nanda has managed everything in an orderly manner. I have been worried about your whereabouts before and sent people to search everywhere. Later, I received a letter from you saying that everything was fine with you in Kyoto.
Okay, everyone can feel relieved now. The shopkeeper... Hey, you...!"
At this time, Lao Song finally woke up to the official uniform Xue Poye was wearing. He was shocked, dumbfounded, and speechless for a moment.
"Sir, the inside has been prepared, go in first!" He Ruhui said with a smile.
Old Song was stunned: "Sir!" Looking at the courteous attitude of the officials behind Xue Poye, he seemed to understand something. His face changed drastically, and he was about to kneel down. Xue Poye grabbed him and patted his hand.
, said cordially: "Old Song, I have something to tell you later. Let's prepare a banquet first, and I and you all will have a good drink!"
Lao Song nodded hurriedly, ordered the guys to start work, and welcomed all the adults to enter the building.
When all the clerks saw Xue Poye coming back, they were all extremely excited. At this time, everyone also understood that the shopkeeper's outing this time was a great success. As the saying goes, one person can achieve enlightenment, chickens and dogs ascend to heaven, I am afraid that life will be better for everyone in the future, so everyone
They all worked hard and diligently.
When Xue Poye saw Xiao Pan, he smiled and nodded. Xiao Pan was also very surprised and bowed secretly.
At that moment, all the officials arrived at the specially arranged private room, which was divided into three tables. After a polite exchange, Xue Poye took the main seat in his restaurant. After Lao Song asked for instructions, he gave the order, and the guys came like water.
Wine, food and fruit.
Xue Poye looked at these delicacies and felt very happy. Many of the dishes had never been seen before. They were obviously added after he came to Beijing. The quality of the guys was very good. It seemed that Nan Huaiwu's training was really good.
This banquet lasted for several hours, and there was endless flattery. Later, all the officials ordered their entourages to come up. They all brought gifts, which were nothing more than treasures and antiques. They all said they wanted to honor Xue Po and drink tea at night.
, Xue Poye saw a room full of exquisite jewelry and antiques, and his heart skipped a beat. He didn't expect that the officials in Hangzhou were so courageous that they openly gave gifts. After asking He Ruhui in a low voice, he realized that this was all old rules.
The south of the Yangtze River is the most prosperous place in Chu. When officials from the capital come here, they will always lose face if they cannot get some treasures and antiques.
Xue Poye was happy to accept it, no one would have too much money, not to mention the money from these guys, it would be free if you don't take it, so he ordered Lao Song to clean it up, and asked the officials earnestly not to do this in the future.
When it got dark, after they had had enough wine and food, all the officials asked their questions and left one by one.
Originally, Xue Poye came from Beijing to do business. According to the rules, the Hangzhou government office had to arrange for him to go to the post house. However, Xue Poye was a native of his hometown, so he didn't care about it. Xue Poye told He Ruhui to take good care of the green lady.
After waiting for others, He Ruhui was sent out to leave.
After comforting everyone in the store, Xue Poye pulled Lao Song again and asked where Yue Zhu was. Lao Song hurriedly said: "Miss Yue Zhu is still sorting out the accounts in the office. We are worried about the shopkeeper's request.
It’s a surprise for Miss Yuezhu, so I haven’t told her about your return yet.”
Xue Poye laughed loudly, patted Lao Song on the shoulder, and rushed straight to Yuezhu's office like the wind. The two Yulin guards were so shocked that they thought something big had happened, and followed Lord Xue majestically, drawing out their sabers.
, rushed over and killed him.
Arriving in front of another Hanyuan gate, Xue Poye finally showed up behind two Yulin guards who were rushing toward him with swords in hand. He couldn't laugh or cry, and told the two of them to rest first without following him.
Although Yu Linwei was confused, seeing Lord Xue's smile on his face, he realized that it was nothing serious and retreated as ordered.
Xue Poye entered the building, and all the clerks were extremely surprised when they saw the shopkeeper's sudden appearance. Xue Poye ordered everyone to be silent, and then quietly went upstairs and arrived in front of Yuezhu's office door.
Xue Poye pushed the door gently, only to find that the door was not locked. However, few people came to disturb the office, so it seemed very quiet. He opened the door gently and saw a pretty girl sitting behind the big case.
, holding a booklet in one hand, eyes fixed on it, and the other hand "cracking" straight at the abacus, concentrating so much that he didn't even notice that he had come in.
Xue Poye looked around slightly and found that there were many more shelves in this office. There were thick bills on the shelves. In addition to Yuezhu's case, there were two bookcases next to it. Xue Poye thought for a moment.
, I immediately understood that now that Xue's enterprise has many projects, the accounting is naturally complicated and cumbersome. Yuezhu alone is naturally too busy. It seems that Nan Huaiwu has recruited two new accountants to help take care of it.
It was getting dark, and the gentlemen might as well have gone home, but Yuezhu was left alone to do his calculations.
Near the left, a new door was opened, connecting the two houses. The door was slightly closed, but I didn't know what was inside.
He stared at Yuezhu and found that this girl was much more lithe and graceful, her figure was much more graceful, and she looked pretty and beautiful. Especially when she was doing serious accounting, she had the demeanor of a lady, elegant and pleasant.
Xue Poye tiptoed behind Yuezhu, smelled the faint fragrance on her body, and his mind wandered. He suddenly stretched out his hand, covered Yuezhu's eyes from behind, and said softly: "Guess who I am!
"
Yuezhu was startled at first and was about to break away when he suddenly heard a familiar voice ringing in his ears. His delicate body trembled and he said in a trembling voice: "Brother Po Ye!"
Xue Poye let go, and Yuezhu turned around. When he saw that familiar face, his eye circles turned red. He couldn't help but grab Xue Poye's arm. He was surprised and happy: "Brother Poye, you...you
But I'm back, I...!" His voice was choked with sobs.
"It turns out that silly girl has not forgotten me and is thinking of me all the time." Xue Poye said softly, holding Yuezhu's waist and smiling like a spring breeze: "I miss my Yuezhu!"——
Important notice, please stay tuned for the next chapter of Yuezhu's Broken Place, it's about time, haha, I'm looking forward to it myself too! dd