Chapter 180: Rich but Not a Warrior

The man surnamed Ke really ripped them off.

But everyone had to follow, who knows if this was the intention of the palace?

Ke Jihai's sad expression disappeared, and he clasped his fists and bowed to the guests: "On behalf of the soldiers on the front line, I thank all the adults for their generosity!"

Once these hundreds of thousands of stones of food and military supplies are in place, the government army can hold out for a while longer.

Of course, everyone was polite, but Ke Jihai immediately said to the officials behind him: "Write down all the donated military rations from the adults! If there is any mistake, you will be held responsible."

The He brothers looked at each other and saw the smile in each other's eyes. Ke Jihai was afraid that the nobles present would talk nonsense and deny it later, which shows how determined he was to get the food.

He Chunhua also spoke: "It just so happens that my He family will also donate..."

Here, he was interrupted by Ke Jihai: "What are you donating! You will also have to recruit soldiers and horses when you go to Xiazhou. How can the money in your pocket be enough? Don't forget your old enemy Nian Zanli in the north! I think the war there is no easier than in Wuzhou." He refused to accept his gift of grain.

He Chunhua had to give up and took his two sons back to sit down.

The host then tried to smooth things over and quickly fooled the accident. The stringed music squeaked, and the geishas came on stage, quickly attracting everyone's attention.

As expected of the emperor's feet, these geishas are much more graceful than those in Heishui City, their singing voices are more gentle, and even their eyes are very affectionate.

He Lingchuan stared at him, but He Yue nudged him with his elbow: "Hey, look at General Ke."

Ke Jihai had just drunk a few cups of wine when a young man came from the back to greet him, and the two started chatting.

Although it was a "chat", it was more like the boy was talking nonstop, and Ke Jihai raised his wine glass and listened, occasionally frowning and asking a few questions.

After a cup of tea, Ke Jihai ordered someone to get the boy a glass of wine.

The boy choked after taking a sip and coughed for a long time.

There were female relatives at the banquet, so the wine served was mellow and slightly sweet, and everyone could use it. But Ke Jihai was used to drinking strong liquor, and had asked the waiter to change it long ago.

Seeing the boy choking on the wine, Ke Jihai smiled and said a few words. He Lingchuan recognized the lip shape as "baby".

The boy was in his early twenties, with slightly dark skin, square face, and honest face, but his eyes were very round and bright. Unlike the banquet, his robes were made of good fabrics, but they had been washed and faded. He Lingchuan also found an inconspicuous patch on his hem.

This guy is totally incompatible with Lumingyuan.

Then the boy handed Ke Jihai a booklet, saluted and left.

Ke Jihai didn't even open it to look at it, and handed it to the subordinates behind him.

After another half an hour, he stood up and toasted Zhu Xiyan with a glass of wine, and then walked out.

It seemed that he was ready to leave.

He Lingchuan was once again convinced that the main reason why General Ke came to Lumingyuan tonight was to get money and wages for the front-line troops. Now that the goal has been achieved, he will leave.

At this time, Mrs. Ying covered her stomach and whispered to her husband: "I have some abdominal pain."

"Do you want to change clothes?"

"No, it's just a dull pain, and it's been a while." Mrs. Ying was embarrassed, "Maybe I'm not used to these delicacies."

This banquet is very showy, everything flying in the sky, swimming in the water, and running on the ground is on the plate. But Ying Hongchan was used to eating the few home-cooked dishes at the border, and now she tasted all kinds of flavors and felt that she couldn't afford it.

"You." He Chunhua had no choice but to stand up and say goodbye to the Zhu family, and leave with his wife and children first.

When he walked to the outer room, Assistant Liu was sitting here with his legs crossed, drinking wine and eating two small dishes.

Such a small person certainly had no right to enter the banquet hall.

Seeing the He family come out, he said hello and hurried out to arrange the carriage.

The night was deep, and most of the lights of the houses below the mountain had been extinguished, and snow was falling in the sky.

The wheels rolled on the new snow, making a creaking sound.

When He Lingchuan saw the scene below the mountain again, he no longer praised it. Instead, he remembered that although the night view of Shihuan City he had seen before was beautiful, the surrounding area of ​​the city was pitch black, and the lights became sparser as he went out, which was not like the emperor's feet.

He asked Assistant Liu: "Aren't there many residents around Shihuan?"

"Many, why not many?" Assistant Liu answered, "Five counties and thirteen townships, either farm or rely on Shihuan City for their livelihood."

Shihuan City is such a prosperous place, and most of the residents of the surrounding counties and townships rely on diligent service for its livelihood.

"Why are the lights so sparse?"

"I'm busy during the day, and I have nothing to do at night, so why don't I just fall asleep?" Assistant Liu laughed, "Besides, candles are expensive, so why light a lamp?"

He Lingchuan immediately remembered what Zhu Xiyan had just said.

He Yue whispered, "Compared to what we have seen along the way, the villagers around Shihuan have a much better life. At least they have food to eat and can survive."

They walked here from Black Water City and truly saw how difficult people's lives were. He Yue had read thousands of books in seven or eight years, but it was not as good as what he had seen and heard in the past twenty or thirty days. All kinds of incredible and shocking things.

This young boy finally understood what "the rise and fall of a country are the suffering of the people."

After these words came out, even Assistant Liu couldn't hold the smile on his face. He swallowed his saliva: "The royal court issued an order ten days ago to increase taxes again. This is the second time this year, so everything is expensive now."

If you are short of money, food, and salary, you have to ask the people for it.

If you ask the people too hard, someone will rise up again, and there will be a second and third Hong Xiangqian.

This topic can no longer be discussed.

After the wheels started rolling, He Lingchuan lifted the curtain and looked forward: "In front is General Ke's carriage, not far from us." It was only five or six feet away, separated by flying snow flakes.

The snow seems to be getting heavier and heavier.

He Yue said: "General Ke is here to collect wages from the dignitaries of Shihuan City this time. Did Lord Zhu know about it in advance, or did he cooperate temporarily?"

He Lingchuan snorted: "These nobles in Shihuancheng are so fat that they can donate tens of thousands of stones or hundreds of thousands of stones in food without blinking an eye."

He Chunhua nodded: "General Ke didn't ask for much food and salary from Wang Ting. I think someone gave him some advice and asked him to find Shi Huancheng to raise funds."

He Yue murmured: "Forcing the generals leading troops on the front lines to rush back to the capital to ask for pay, it is a wonder in the world." There was inevitably some anger in his words.

He had known that the country was corrupt, but he still felt uncomfortable after seeing it with his own eyes.

He Lingchuan patted his head: "You are still too young, kid."

He Chunhua shook his head and said: "Asking for pay is just a pretext. I think General Ke has another purpose in returning to the capital."

He Yue's face changed color: "You, you mean he also has two..."

Before the last word "heart" came out of his mouth, He Chunhua scolded him: "Nonsense!"

"I suspect that he rushed back to plead with Master Fu Jufu."

"Fu Ju..." He Lingchuan activated the Confused Skill, "Who is it?"

He Yue knew: "Sanqi often served Mr. Fu. He was originally a ranger general. I remember that he fought several battles in the south and west. Later, he suffered from injuries and old age and ended up at home. His descendants also Being an official in the court has no great future. "

He Lingchuan: "Already retired? What big thing did this old man commit? Do you want General Ke to come back to intercede for him?"

He Yue was also confused.

"It was only when I arrived in Shihuan that I heard that someone had secretly reported that Fu Ju was on good terms with the former chief minister Ma Donghaoming and had private financial transactions with Wuzhou." He Chunhua has been dealing with officials of all sizes in the past few days and has collected a lot of money. Heaps of information and gossip.

The He brothers looked at each other with a chill on their backs.

At this time, being accused of colluding with Dong Haoming would lead to death.

"Your Majesty, did you believe it?"

"If you don't believe it, why would General Ke rush back in such a hurry? Fu Ju used to fight alongside him on the battlefield and saved his life more than once. The two have a very good relationship." He Chunhua looked at his two sons and sighed, "Do you know , Although the Fu family is not big, its wealth is extremely rich, ranking among the top six in the entire country. "

"The Fu family has produced famous generals who have made great achievements with Yuan Gaozu and received a lot of rewards. Although his descendants are not good at martial arts or outstanding officials, they are all very good at business. They have engaged in more than a dozen businesses, and the wealth of their family has increased. The bigger. When Fu Ju was a cavalry general, he could not do business as an official, but he put all his business in the name of his close relatives. It is said that nearly 30% of the medicine shops in the capital were owned by his family; the entire six streets in the west of the capital were also owned by Fu Ju. The family’s land is such a valuable place, hey! Think about it, how rich is the Fu family?”

He Lingchuan tilted his head: "Can you be richer than the king?"

He Chunhua smiled and said nothing.

If you are richer than anyone else, everyone will be jealous; if you are richer than the king, then...

He Yue's eyes flashed slightly, why did his father suddenly mention the Fu family's money?

He Chunhua added: "The late emperor once fined and confiscated a large sum of property from the Fu family because the children of the Fu family relied on wealth and oppressed the common people. Everyone thought that the family's vitality was damaged, but they did not expect that it would take only a few years for it to recover. , but keeps a low profile from now on.”

He Yue tilted his head: "With the Fu family's astonishing wealth, can it sustain a war until we defeat Dong Haoming?"

He Chunhua said softly: "We still don't know."

This was his catchphrase, and both brothers knew that the next sentence would be "why not give it a try"?

Deputy Liu was also sitting in the car, so he couldn't speak clearly, but both brothers understood.

The Fu family is too rich, but they have no powerful officials in the dynasty. However, the country is crying out for money during the war, so...

Therefore, whether Fu Ju was involved in treason or rebellion is not important in itself. The Fu family thought they could avoid disaster by keeping a low profile, but unfortunately the crime of having a jade is an unbreakable truth.

He Lingchuan smiled and said: "Isn't there an old saying in our Qiansong County: If you are rich but not powerful, you will be penned as a fat pig."

So what if you are a very rich man? When the power is sharpening its sword, you still have to be obedient and accept the slaughter?

He Chunhua said in a low voice: "The great Sima fled back to Wuzhou after his regicide failed. He is at ease, but the number of officials and businessmen who were implicated in the court is unknown. It is said that the guillotine at the entrance of the market was blunted, and the confiscated family property was temporarily gone." The space was piled up in several large warehouses behind the Pinghe Temple, and it took more than two months to process it. "