Chapter 2629 Turning over the table, what kind of table is it?


    Xu County.


    In the main hall.


    The colors of the Han Dynasty are red and black.


    These two colors are certainly solemn, but if used too much, they become solemn and solemn. Of course, there is nothing wrong with it in a place like the main hall where the majesty of the emperor is to be displayed, but for the people in the main hall, it seems There are some people who, no matter what, are unable to become harmonious between the monarch and his ministers, and the level of sincerity and sincerity seems to be limited to official business and the courtesy of the monarch and his ministers.


    Liu Xie also knew that if he wanted to talk about some private words, it would not be appropriate to do so in the main hall.


    After all, there are ears around the main hall.


    But if Liu Ye is forced to go to other places, such as on a high platform, away from the eyes and ears, on the one hand, Liu Xie feels that it is not necessary, and on the other hand, Liu Ye may not be willing.


    ??This is not to say that Liu Ye is not loyal, but that there is no need to alert the snake, or that it inexplicably arouses the suspicion of fellow student Lao Cao.


    ??If he didn''t say anything important, and Cao Cao thought that the two of them were conspiring, then the gain would really outweigh the loss. It would be better to stay in the main hall, and even if the words were passed on to the surrounding ears, it wouldn''t be a problem.


    Because what Liu Xie and Liu Ye were talking about at the moment was not about Cao Cao, but about Kong Rong...


    "Your Majesty..." A civil servant reported outside the palace, "Your Majesty, the royal censor led troops to break into the Kong family''s residence in the state of Lu and captured Kong Wenju. His son wanted to go and resisted arrest, but was killed on the spot..."


    Hearing this, Liu Xie immediately wanted to stand up, with a look of shock on his face, but after a moment, Liu Xie closed his eyes again, calmed his breathing, and said, "I know." 』


    Waiting until the civil servants left, Liu Xie turned to Liu Ye and said, "Have you heard about this...have you heard about it before?" 』


    『Kong Wen did something illegal? Liu Ye replied, "I have heard a little bit about it." 』


    Liu Xie frowned.


    Liu Xie asked about Kong Rong''s arrest, and Liu Ye answered about Kong Rong''s guilt. Obviously, some people were wrong.


    "The imperial censor is arresting..." Liu Xie said slowly, as if he had been thinking about each word in his heart before saying it, "I just have a little feeling. In the past, Kong Wenju was in the palace, impassioned and worried about the country." The people are now behind bars..."


    After hearing this, Liu Ye smiled and said, "Your Majesty, times have changed, and this is the case." 』


    Times have changed? ”Liu Xie didn’t expect to hear such a comment from Liu Ye. What does this mean?


    Look forward and don’t focus on the past?


    Or is it that Kong Rong has changed and is no longer a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty? So who are the loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty? Are you worried?


    Or does it mean that I have missed the best opportunity? Times have changed now? Or are you saying that there are still some opportunities, and it will be over if time passes?


    The more Liu Xie thought about it, the more confused his thoughts became and the more his brows furrowed.


    Liu Ye raised his head slightly and glanced, "Since your Majesty is the Son of Heaven and has the virtues of heaven and earth, how can you stay in one place and forget all the people in the world?" 』


    Liu Xie snorted, "Ai Qing, you mean that I''m obsessed with the aftertaste of my old love?" 』


    Liu Ye said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty has been given a mandate from heaven, and you should follow the heart of heaven and earth." The heart of heaven and earth is the unkindness of saints. When there is unkindness, there is benevolence. 』


    Liu Xie''s brows furrowed more and more, as if a knife had been cut between his eyebrows, "What Aiqing said...I was a little confused after hearing this." I also ask Aiqing to give me some advice. 』


    Liu Xie said it very politely, because he can only be polite now.


    Liu Ye cupped his hands and saluted and said, "Your Majesty''s words are serious." I only talk nonsense and dare not teach you. If Your Majesty is willing to listen to the lies of the humble minister, then the humble minister will speak out boldly. 』


    "please. ”Liu Xie nodded, “I love you but it’s okay to say so.” 』


    『Heaven and earth support all things, but why are tigers and wolves eating cattle and sheep? Or is it to prevent cattle and sheep from eating green crops? Liu Ye said slowly, "Tiger and leopards are born of heaven and earth, and so are cattle, sheep and green crops. They are born of heaven and earth. They are neither noble nor cheap, and each has its own place." Since Your Majesty is a man of destiny, you should regard the world as yours. How can you show mercy to cattle, sheep, tigers and leopards in one place? 』


    ‘Well…’ Liu Xie was speechless for a moment.


    Liu Ye did not continue. Of course, Liu Ye also had some courage to tell Liu Xie these things.


    Sometimes, Liu Ye himself was in trouble.


    No one wants to betray the emperor, but the problem is that this is the reality.


    Since Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty lost his control over the local area, the emperor of the Han Dynasty is no longer the emperor during the period of Emperor Xiaowu...


    In other words, ever since Liu Xiuzai married Bai Fumei and took advantage of local powerful men to do business, the big man was no longer his original shape.


    So can you blame Liu Xie for this?


    Can you blame Liu Ye for this?


    All living beings need to struggle on their own in order to survive in this world...


    ?This is true for cattle and sheep, as well as for tigers and leopards, and of course humans are no exception.


    Cao Cao raised his butcher knife in Xu County. Under the **** storm, not only the gentry children were greatly frightened, but the emperor Liu Xie felt threatened. Even Liu Ye and others who originally supported Cao Cao could not help but feel a little bit in their hearts. murmur. After all, if you follow a boss who kills without blinking an eye, you either have to be arrogant, or you have to have a strategy to save your own life, and at the same time, you have to think about your retreat in case something unexpected happens...


    Fortunately, Cao Cao did not indulge in killing. It is said that he also let go of the captured informants placed by General Hussars in Hebei. This somewhat relieved Liu Ye and others. As long as Lao Cao is not crazy yet and can be reasonable, that''s fine. So the key issue now is that everyone should be reasonable and don''t flip the table over, then that''s fine.


    ?This table is already in pieces and cannot withstand being lifted a few more times. No, it may even fall apart if it is lifted again.


    Liu Ye specially came to see the emperor Liu Xie after learning that Xi Lu was dispatched, hoping to comfort the emperor as soon as possible. Calm down, no matter how calm you are, it is wrong to overturn the table. Overturning the table is not good for everyone...


    As for Kong Rong, isn’t it necessary to **** him to Xu County? It won’t be too late to make a judgment then.


    Liu Xie thought for a long time and finally nodded silently.


    …(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻…


    ?While Liu Xie was thinking about Kong Rong''s affairs, at Cui Yan''s residence, Li Cheng, under the eager guidance of the steward, passed through the cloister and went straight into the inner courtyard. When they arrived at the inner courtyard, they were followed by two maids and entered the study room in the inner courtyard amid the fragrant breeze.


    Even though it is late spring and early summer, the night is still a bit cool. In the study room in the inner courtyard, a heater is set up and agarwood is lit, creating a peaceful atmosphere.


    In the study room of the inner courtyard, Cui Yan was reading a book. When he saw the sound of footsteps, he put down the bamboo slips in his hand. Amidst the gentle rustling of bamboo, he turned his wrist slightly and said, "Brother Li Xian is here?" Please sit down as if you are at home and don''t see anyone else. 』


    ??Although Cui Yan spoke politely and kindly, Li Cheng still saluted respectfully, "I have seen the envoy and disturbed the envoy for no reason. I am rude." I have some troublesome matters in Jizhou, and I know that your Majesty is busy with affairs, so I have never dared to come over to disturb you. Now I really can’t figure it out, so I came to disturb you, and I hope that your Majesty will forgive me..."


    Cui Yan''s eyebrows moved, knowing that this was Li Cheng expressing some dissatisfaction, so he smiled and said: "Nothing important can compare with nostalgia." As for the trivial matters of the county, haha, who has the power to solve the current situation without any flaw? You are just fulfilling some responsibilities, how dare you say that you are busy? The reason why I didn''t greet my brother when he came was really because I was old and had some blood discord in the morning and dusk, and my legs and feet were stiff and it was difficult to walk. It wasn''t because I was deliberately condescending... By the way, I don''t know where my brother is now. Office? 』


    Li Cheng lowered his head and said, "I don''t have a job yet..."


    Cui Yan pretended to be surprised, "Huh?" A good brother and a great talent, but he is not allowed to be an official? When the imperial court was waiting for someone to employ someone, it unexpectedly missed the countryside. Someone must write a letter to report this matter, so that the virtuous brother can show his talents. 』


    Li Cheng raised his hands and said, "How dare you trouble your envoy with the light of a mere firefly?" It is my great fortune to meet you today. 』


    The two looked at each other, and after a moment they both laughed. The slightly polite atmosphere before gradually became peaceful.


    Li Cheng cupped his hands and said, "Brother Cui... Zhongmou Pan is usually cautious, but for some reason he has hated Xun Lingjun and sent his minions to arrest him. Everyone in the family, young and old, has either been harmed or arrested... In Yecheng, Chen Changwen has been avoiding talking... these days , I am just running around with this matter to see if I can save something. 』


    When Cui Yan heard this, he slowly shook his head and sighed: "This matter is of great importance, even Brother Yu must avoid it." Heed my brother’s advice, don’t get involved in this matter... My dear brother is still young, and his future is limitless... Don’t be rough, it will be ruined in one moment..."


    Li Cheng frowned. Now that Cui Yan has benefited from Cao Cao, of course he will not fall out with Cao Cao immediately, but the problem is that if the benefits Cui Yan gets are stained with the blood of the Jizhou nobles, then if the Cui family wants to claim to be the leader of Jizhou, then What a joke. Things are urgent now, so there is no need to go around in circles. I am here today just to tell Cui Yan what kind of situation Jizhou has reached! Li Cheng bowed his hands again and said, "Brother Cui, please give me some advice... I also wanted to surrender to the imperial court and serve the country, but due to the constant party disputes between the DPRK and China and the arrogance, I also had doubts in my heart and did not dare to get involved easily. middle. Now that the emperor is growing older, as a great citizen of the Han Dynasty, he should also serve the country..."


    Cui Yan shook his head again and his face darkened, "This matter cannot be discussed simply." My dear brother, what you said is really reckless. 』


    Li Cheng was silent for a moment, and it seemed that the harmonious atmosphere had quietly dissipated.


    The two were silent for a while. Li Cheng said goodbye, but Cui Yan did not send him away.


    ?Seeing that Li Cheng was obviously angry and walked away, Cui Yan couldn''t help but smile bitterly in his heart. No matter how secretive he was, he couldn''t hide in the eyes of others!


    By withdrawing Cui Yan from Jizhou, Cao Cao made it clear that he was wary of Cui Yan''s network in Jizhou. Cui Yan withdrew, on the one hand, to gain benefits, and on the other hand, he did not want to be tough with his classmate Lao Cao.


    ??Cui Yan has never wanted to have a tough fight with anyone.


    It was like this during Yuan Shao''s time, and it was also like this during Cao Cao''s time.


    ?As long as the conditions are negotiated, any shape can be accepted.


    ?The Cui family is the Cui family of Jizhou, but in the final analysis, it is the Cui family of all generations. If Lao Cao wants to expose the Cui family, then even if Cui Yan lives outside Jizhou, he must take action, and now he only exposed the Pan family in Zhongmou...


    ?Does Mrs. Cui risk her own dinner table and then help Pan''s table?


    It is obviously impossible.


    Under the candlelight in the study, Cui Yan looked sadly at the bronze mirror standing on one side. In the bronze mirror, although it was a little blurry, he could see that his hair on the temples was stained with frost, and he was indeed old. But in the blink of an eye, Cui Yan''s eyebrows lit up. How could he be without power for a day in this world? The struggle between the Han Dynasty and the Han Dynasty has always been extremely fierce. It is like a military formation, with troops arranged in formation and various temptations. If someone is underestimated and finds a weak point, he will be immediately destroyed like the Pan family in Zhongmou. !


    ??Although Cui Yan rejected Li Cheng, Cui Yan would not allow others to easily overturn the case of the Cui family and Jizhou as a whole...


    Cao Cao, what a great trick!


    It''s a pity that Li Cheng was still a little short-sighted. He just stared at Zhongmou''s table table which was closer to Jizhou being overturned, but he didn''t notice that the Kong family''s table table in Lu State was also overturned...


    ??If the people of Jizhou say good things to the people of Zhongmou, it means that they have lost the right to speak about the case of Lu State. If both sides have to be managed, then neither side will be able to be managed. And if it was for the Kong family, the people in Jizhou were obviously not so eager for justice.


    So Cui Yan can be sure that even if Pan''s desk case can be supported, it is not worth supporting.


    What I have to do now is not to protect the Pan family in Zhongmou. It is just a small local surname. If it dies, it is dead. On the contrary, the Kong family in Lu State is a big surname. If I take this opportunity...


    ?You cannot lift your own desk, but you can still lift someone else''s desk.


    …┴─┴︵╰（‵□′╰）…


    Chang''an.


    ?Pang Tong clasped his hands, like a moving black koala, and slowly entered the palace of the Hussars General.


    After not exercising for a long time, you will inevitably feel some muscle soreness when you first start exercising.


    ?It’s so sour and refreshing…


    My flesh trembles every time I move.


    And this is not just a matter of a day or two, you have to persist.


    ‘Huh…’ Pang Tong moved and entered the hall, then sat down and took a breath.


    Fei Qian glanced at it and laughed. Instead of teasing Pang Tong about this matter, he asked: "I heard that Hu Shang has been actively raising donations in the past two days. What''s going on?" 』


    Pang Tong cupped his hands and said, "I was about to talk about this." The spring days are getting warmer, the roads are thawing, and there are more merchants coming and going. There are also some Hu merchants from the Western Regions who want to raise funds to seek officials. I don’t know where I heard the news... It is said that someone said that the Zhen family’s daughter donated an official position, so I thought Imitate…』


    While speaking, Pang Tong presented the records about this matter.


    After Fei Qian took a quick look, there was a bit of surprise on his face: "These merchants are quite extraordinary...Tsk, tsk, with this capital, it seems that you and I have underestimated these Hu merchants before..."


    ?Pang Tong nodded.


    ?Fei Qian didn''t recognize any of the dozen names recorded in this file, but the amount of donations written down in black and white on the paper surprised Fei Qian. Fundraising? It''s really like Zhen Mi, who spends most of his family''s wealth in one go. After all, he is still a minority. And most businessmen basically don''t raise more than one-tenth of their real assets, or even twenty. It''s less than one percent. From this, how much are these Hu businessmen worth?


    Tsk tsk.


    ?However, those who come to discuss fundraising matters with Fei Qian are often agents, not the real persons of these extremely wealthy countries.


    The most donations are naturally gold and silver.


    Other commodities are also available, such as cloth, spices, jewelry, cattle, sheep, camels, etc.


    Fei Qian laughed and said, "Do these guys think I''m like that person, selling my official position?" If Xiaoling was alive at that time and knew that the Hu merchants in the Western Regions were like this... why would the Western Qiang be conquered? Ha ha…"


    Pang Tong also smiled and said, "What my lord said is true." This noble nobleman of the country is admired by everyone, like the stars and the moon hanging high in the sky, which is naturally rare. Merchants love profit, and if they invest their money, they want to get it back a hundred times. If there is no profit, how can they be respectful to others? 』


    Fei Qian nodded, "Even if you donate an official position, you can''t be given a real position. It''s just a false title without taking a test... Just like the Zhen family''s daughter, she first evaluates her ability and tries out one or two fake positions before being awarded the post of Zhiyin Supervisor." , there is absolutely no reason to achieve it overnight... With such idle positions and empty titles, are these Hu businessmen willing? 』


    Pang Tong smiled and pointed at the donated items in the booklet and said, "Look, my lord, are there many jade, jewelry, gold and silver utensils among the items donated by Hu merchants?" 』


    "Um? Fei Qian looked at it and saw that it was indeed the case. He thought for a moment and said, "I see... this calculation is quite clever..."


    After Pang unified it, Fei Qian finally understood that in fact, these Hu merchants'' fundraising had multiple layers of calculations. The first was a superficial show of goodwill and submission, an act of paying tribute. And behind this donation, there is actually a marketing approach.


    ?This kind of marketing method was actually very common in later generations, but Fei slightly forgot about it after diving into the present. After being pointed out by Pang Tongtong, he thought about it again...


    At present, the Han Dynasty does not classify the races, and there are no additional restrictions on the Hu people. However, over the past three or four hundred years, although the atmosphere is open and the attitude of tolerance towards the foreigners from all over the world is relatively low, they even look down on the Hu people. The barbarians are barbarians, which is also a very common phenomenon.


    These Hu merchants from the Western Regions traveled to and from China, of course, the most important thing was to seek profit, not to seek official positions.


    This is the essential difference between Hu people and Han people.


    The Hu people came all the way to China. Although they could not be said to be uninterested in Chinese official positions, the roots of the Hu people''s merchants were still in foreign countries, and what they wanted more was still profits.


    ?Then, the donations made by the Hu merchants were in order to obtain more profits.


    Profit from goods.


    The goods brought to China by Hu merchants were of course products from the Western Regions, Parthia, or Western Europe. Among them, gold and silver utensils, jade and treasures were of relatively high value. However, although the value of this type of goods is relatively high, the price is indeed very high and fluctuates greatly. Just like if the price of gold and silver vessels is calculated based on the purity and weight of the gold and silver itself, it will be a blood loss, and the same is true for other jade treasures.


    Fei Qian''s previous business with these Hu merchants focused on ores, raw materials, and slave trade. He was not very interested in these commodities with relatively high value but even more inflated prices, so naturally these Hu merchants were very interested. I feel depressed and have no strength.


    ?Now, Hu Shang wanted to take advantage of such an opportunity. On the surface, it was a donation, but in fact, he wanted to determine the price of these gold and silver vessels, jade and jewelry. As long as Fei Qian is willing to accept such a donation, it is equivalent to accepting the price represented by these things, and these donated things cannot be used up by Fei Qian alone, so normally, Fei Qian These things will also be rewarded to other officials, gentry, and squire children, etc. Under such circumstances, other officials, gentry, and squire children will naturally follow this "recognized" price.


    “Tsk…” Fei Qian sighed, “It’s such a good calculation…”


    Pang Tong said with a smile: "It''s better to accept the things, but at this price..."


    ??If you hadn''t seen it through, you would have been tricked by the Hu businessmen. Now that you have figured this out, of course you can''t follow these Hu businessmen.


    Fei Qian stroked his beard, thought about it, and smiled, "I have a better idea..."


    (End of this chapter)