Yuan Lan said on the spot that the Yuan family and the Yuan family's Yongshengchang firm were willing to take a share in the "compass". He didn't mention the original 50,000 yuan for shares, nor did he mention the sea map and the globe, but only said that he wanted to invest in the compass. He also said that at present, the 50,000 yuan is only a fixed amount for the shares, and the remaining ones are lacking, so they can only be discussed into a sentence and paid within five days.

Shang Cheng pondered for a moment and told him that he would talk about the matter of buying shares later.

Yuan Lan's face immediately turned gray. He thought that this must be Shang Chengyu's anger, and it was not good to attack him on Jiang Yan's face, so he said some tactful words to prevaricate him. But there was nothing he could do. He can only be blamed for this! Who let him talk nonsense in front of Erya without anything, and also satirized Shang Cheng's absurd words? Now that Shang Cheng didn't drive him out of the door, he was already taking care of his face, and he wanted others to let him take a ride on the carriage in terms of navigation skills, which was simply delirium!

Fang Chu also looked disappointed.

Jiang Jun was not surprised. This kind of thing, Shang Cheng's willingness to agree is weird!

On the day he arrived, he saw a compass, a globe, and a map of the sea in Shang Cheng's small study. To this day, it is still difficult for him to describe his feelings at that time. Especially the globe and the sea map, these two things completely subverted his view and cognition of this world! To be honest, he didn't believe that what Shang Cheng said was true, and he couldn't believe it! But he had worked with Shang Cheng for a few years, and he knew that Shang Cheng would not joke about this kind of thing, so he couldn't help but believe it. Not only did he believe it, but he was also grateful to Shang Cheng for trusting him. With the little insight he had honed in the Yanshan Admiral's Mansion, he clearly realized that the compass, the globe, and the sea map were all sharp weapons for the town, and it was impossible for Shang Cheng to hand them over to private individuals to dispose of. Don't say it's Yuan Lan, even Huo Shiqi can't do it! Even if the Ministry of War is reluctant to spend money on these things, Shang Cheng will not use them to make a living!

Shang Cheng was no longer entangled in the matter of shareholding, so he asked Jiang Yan: "Is the matter on your side going well?" ”

Jiang Yan smiled and said, "It's going well." Yesterday, I had a conversation with the people from the Ministry of Household Affairs at the Ministry of Longevity, and I benefited a lot. ”

Shang Cheng laughed and said: "When it comes to trading, you forced the Ministry of Industry to almost hang yourself with just one contract, and there are still people who can benefit you a lot?" ”

Jiang Jun smiled. The so-called benefits are shallow, of course, he is humble. Since he and several colleagues in the Ministry of Industry had a casual conversation at noon on the day of the fight, for three or four days, someone would talk to him every day when he was resting at noon; Yesterday was even more incredible, two household leaders took the lead, and seven or eight household officials came directly to him, saying that they wanted to ask him for advice. These people call him "sir" when they come, and "sir" when they leave, and even salute him in a flat manner, which undoubtedly makes him feel very comfortable. He came to the village today to look for business, in addition to some things to ask, there is also a bit of merit. Look, his old Jiang has only been in Beijing for ten days, and now he is also a little famous!

"Yo! It's all Mr. Jiang! Shang Cheng shouted half surprised, half exaggerated. He asked, "What did you tell them?" ”

Jiang Yan stretched his face hard, trying to make a worthless and indifferent appearance, but the joy in the corners of his eyes and eyebrows could not be concealed. He pursed his lips and said, "I didn't say anything." It's just a casual talk about 'capital', 'value', 'price', and so on, as well as 'inflation' and 'deflation'. ”

Shang Cheng looked at Jiang Tong dumbfounded. He and Jiang Tong have been working together for a long time, especially when Jiang Tong is his "confidential secretary", and they are busy together for six or seven hours a day. Sometimes in their leisure time on official business, the two of them will nibble on white bread with hot soup, or suck tea with tea, and of course they will also pull some short words from their parents, such as "capital" and "value price", which are handed over to Jiang Shu intermittently at such times. He is not a real Da Zhao person, and he never dares to mention his identity to others, so even if he is accompanied by relatives and friends at all times, he always feels very lonely in his heart. It is precisely because of this feeling of loneliness that he cherishes family and friendship doubly, except for the identity and origin can not be said, he almost never taboos other words, one by one, this is probably also because of a side effect of loneliness, he can't hide everything, that kind of day is too painful; And he also wants to be able to truly help others, just as others help him...... Therefore, whenever someone talks to him and asks for advice, he almost unreservedly tells others what he knows. Uncle Seventeen likes the Three Kingdoms, Lu Ji likes calligraphy, and Zhang Shao likes military affairs, as long as he has free time, he is willing to communicate with them. Jiang also discussed economic issues with him many times. Discussing with Jiang Jun, at the beginning, he could still speak the truth, but as Lao Jiang knew more and more truths, he couldn't resist it, and was often asked speechless. The student is tireless in learning, but the teacher is not very clever, there is no way, he doesn't care if it's right or wrong, and doesn't care if it's a contradiction, he throws out all the truths he knows and can remember, and lets Lao Jiang ponder and distinguish it by himself. As for the effect of this "teaching method", it seems to be not bad. Zhang Shao already has a reputation as a contemporary art of war, and Jiang Tong has also become a "sir". I just don't know what others think of Zhang Shao and Jiang Shu when they look at him. Alas, this is also quite contradictory. On the one hand, he is secretive about his own affairs, and he doesn't even dare to take out his favorite calligraphy casually, and on the other hand, he seems to be sparing no effort to teach and train "protégés". But he really couldn't help it. If others treat him with sincerity, he can't repay him for cheating, right? Although his identity and resume are fake...... But he is a true person, and the knowledge he told Zhang Shao and Jiang Shu is also true! As for whether this knowledge can be trusted, it is up to them to study, consider, and judge for themselves.

was stunned for a moment, and Shang Cheng was immediately relieved. He has exposed too many flaws, and now he has a lot of debts! However, as long as he does not have the intention of rebellion, the court will definitely not move him easily, and all kinds of treacherous and incredible things about him will be covered up to death. He even had a feeling that his origin had probably become a secret of the imperial court now, and Zhang Pu and his pillar ministers even had some tacit understanding, and everyone worked together to help him cover up. Otherwise, the two factions of the north and the south fought to the point of life and death years ago, why didn't anyone come out to talk about him? Of course, there is another explanation for this matter: in his affairs, both the north and the south are at fault, so no one can bargain for him to talk about things, and he has offended the military, and he can't please him with hard work, so everyone simply ignores him. This is probably the fundamental reason why he is neither favored by the Northerners nor treated by the Southerners: no one is willing to recruit an unclear person, let alone leave an excuse for his opponents for this person......

Shang Cheng and Jiang Jun said a few words, and then turned their heads to talk to Fang Shu. This is also a guest, and he can't afford to be slow. It's just that he couldn't remember the words he cut, so he simply used a more affectionate title: "Old Fang, you are also here to participate in the shares?" ”

Fang Shu didn't care very much about the new navigation skills, anyway, their Fang family had made enough money guarding the two seaways in the north and south, but the new things and fresh words he heard from Jiang Jian one after another taught him a little unwilling. Of course, the matter of patent money is very important, but "capital", "inflation" and "deflation" are even more difficult for him. Like the Yongshengchang of the Yuan family, the Fang family has also encountered this or that kind of problem in recent years after two hundred years of operation, to be precise, there is so much money that there is no place to spend it, except for asking for land and asking for houses, it can only be put in the money box and buried in the money cellar to grow mold. However, there are many people in Jiangnan and few fields, land prices have always been high, and the voice of the imperial court to suppress land annexation has never stopped, and no matter how rich their families are, they do not dare to buy land on a large scale. But what's the use of hoarding money in chests and cellars? No matter how much money you put there, you won't be a cub by yourself! Therefore, Fang Xu, like Yuan Lan, is also thinking about how to make money make money. After listening to Jiang Luan's words just now, he seemed to suddenly see a gate in front of him, and behind the gate was a vast new world. It's just that Jiang Yan is angry, and after saying a few words, there is no follow-up, and the door is still tightly closed! He was thinking about how to bring up the conversation again, and suddenly heard Shang Cheng greet him, his tone was still so kind, and his heart was happy, so he threw Jiang Yan aside first, stood up and arched his hand, and said: "Actually, I begged Yuan Dadong's family to take me on this trip......

"You sit down and talk." Shang Cheng made a move. said to Yuan Lan again, "Old Yuan, don't cry and mourn like you have lost hundreds of thousands of capital, okay?" It's not that I don't want to teach you to buy shares, but in fact, I can't let you buy shares. Can you figure out the stakes, can't others think through it? Sea maps, globes, and compasses are not things that can be owned by private individuals. At least not yet! In the future, it may be handed over to private use, but the imperial court will inevitably have corresponding national laws and systems. It is absolutely impossible for these things to be unregulated! I can even responsibly tell you that these three things, except for the family relatives who helped me make them, only Huo Shiqi, Huo Guozi and Lao Jiang have seen them, and no one else, including my guards, has ever seen them with their own eyes! ”

As soon as he said this, Yuan Lan's face finally softened a little.

Shang Cheng turned his face and listened intently to what Fang Shu said.

Fang Shu said: "...... Actually, I came here because I wanted to beg Uncle Ying for help. When I first arrived in Beijing in February, I bought a rare item from someone else, but I never found out the origin of this item, and I always thought it was a pity. A few days ago, I heard in a shop that Uncle Ying was a connoisseur of rare playthings, so I wanted to come and ask for help. But I didn't know you in my life, and I didn't want to come to the door to disturb recklessly, and when I was hesitating, I happened to meet Yuan Dadong's family, so I begged him to bring me to pay respects......" As he spoke, he first took out a cotton handkerchief and spread it on the stone table, then took out a brocade bag from his pocket, untied the silk rope at the mouth of the bag, and took out four crystal clear and shining round pearls and gently placed them on the cotton handkerchief.

As soon as the pearl was put down, the people at the table, together with the second girl behind Shang Cheng, took a breath in unison.

These four pearls are the size of hazelnuts, indicating that the brilliance flows, and there is no flaw, even if it is the peak of the sun, there is still a mist of colorful clouds on the pearls, but it makes people stare fixedly, as if they can see the wisps of light grow and disappear one by one, this is the real priceless thing!

Dongzhu! This is definitely the East Pearl from Heilongjiang in Northeast China!

Shang Cheng immediately recognized the origin of these pearls. Hey, he saw four such big Dongzhu two or three years ago, and at that time he also sighed at the beauty of nature's creation, but he didn't expect to meet four again now that he has eyes!

He frowned. Strange thing, that time it was four East Pearls, why are they still four this time? Maybe these are the ones that Jiu Niangzi carries with her?

He picked up an East Pearl and looked at it carefully, but he really couldn't tell whether it was one of the East Pearls he had seen before, so he said to the other party: "This is the East Pearl, produced in Heilongjiang, which is a big river in the bitter cold place in the northeast." Dongzhu was fished out of that river. After a pause, he asked, "Where did you get these four beads?" ”

Fang Shu explained apologetically: "This ...... I agreed to the seller's request at the time, and I couldn't reveal anything about her anyway, so I ......"

Shang Cheng nodded, indicating that he could understand the reason for Fang Chu's reluctance to confess, and at the same time, he also respected Fang Chu's reluctance to keep his promise. As for whether it was the Nine Ladies who sold these Dongzhu, he didn't care. He didn't care about the specific affairs of the thief and the thief, and he bumped into Jiu Niangzi and arrested him, which was her bad luck; Of course, even if she is lucky, he can't be busy catching this female thief every day. But he was eighty percent sure that these Dongzhu were the ones he had seen at the beginning; And the one who sold these beads to Fang Shu is very likely to be Jiu Niangzi.

Thinking of Jiu Niangzi, he couldn't help but want to laugh. He and this mother-in-law are really fateful, they can always bump back and forth, and I don't know if it's because the two of them are in conflict, and when they meet again, he will definitely grab her and interrogate her vividly.

Fang Shu saw that he was holding the pearl in his hand with a smile on his face, and asked carefully, "Uncle Ying, what do you think of these treasures...... How are these Dongzhu? ”

"Not bad." Shang Cheng put Dongzhu down and said with a smile, "The old party has vision and luck, and he can bump into such a good deal." Dongzhu of this size is also rare in Heilongjiang in Northeast China, not to mention that the four are all average size, which is even more rare. ”

Fang Chu smiled and said, "Since Uncle Ying likes it, then I will endure to cut my love for a while." I bought these four pearls for 3,400 yuan, and I didn't want to make any money, so I let you go according to the price. He spent a total of 24,000 yuan to buy these four Dongzhu pearls at that time, and now they have directly shrunk several times and sold them to Shangcheng, which is actually a large bribe. But he felt that he had done it beautifully. These four pearls are extremely rare, because he is afraid of people competing for the price, he and the seller are trading in private, and few people know about it.

Shang Cheng smiled and said, "A gentleman doesn't win people's love." One by one, Lao Fang, you are not kind enough to do this. He took two sips of tea soup and said, "If you have anything, just say it, you don't need to send me money." I'm not short of money. Actually, I can almost guess what you mean. Mingzhou sea merchants, these words can explain some problems. Several of your sea merchants in Mingzhou have normal business dealings with the Eastern Wa, and the imperial court will never interfere with it. Notice that I'm talking about 'normal business dealings'. He stared at Fang Xuan. Seeing Fang Xuan's eyes flickering, he lowered his head to avoid, smiled, and said, "...... In the past, the court probably didn't bother to investigate those abnormal exchanges. However, in the future, it is better to stop doing those things of stealing pig iron and copper coins, and smuggling gold, silver and copper mines from Dongyi, and simply stop doing it. These are all strictly forbidden by the imperial court, and if you catch them, it will be a big deal, and if you don't make it, the whole family will have to be unlucky. You say, don't you? ”

Fang Chu came today and wanted to inquire about this matter. He was invited by a letter from a friend, and only hurried to the capital in mid-February. But when he arrived in Beijing, the Prime Minister's Office had already made a decision that the Ministry of Industry was responsible for the firing of glass, and other government yamen and private businessmen were not allowed to participate. He was unwilling, and secondly, he was the first to return to the capital, and he also wanted to have a good look at the prosperity and wealth of the Central Plains, so he delayed his return to the present after a few lingerings. At the end of last month, he finally made up his mind to return to Mingzhou, but unfortunately, he couldn't leave at this time. Ten days ago, the imperial court suddenly issued an inexplicable decree, from Shangjing to the southeast of the road, all Mingquan Yangguangfu and other maritime merchants, unless there is a wedding or funeral ceremony, are not allowed to leave the locality, the local government must carefully screen and register all the maritime merchants who stay in the local area, and must not send another road to guide the slip, and appoint a special person to check every morning and evening, and those whose whereabouts are unknown or those who leave without telling them will be immediately arrested and detained...... Now, not only him, but all the maritime merchants in Beijing can't get a road guide in the Shangjing Plain Mansion, and it doesn't matter how much money they stuff, and the scribes clearly told them that this is an order from the Ministry of War, and if they dare not obey it, they will be punished according to the ban in the army, and no one dares to disobey it. In the past few days, there have been all kinds of rumors, today some people say that the imperial court wants to ban the sea, tomorrow some people say that the imperial court is going to burn everyone's ships, and the day after tomorrow there is even more news that the imperial court is going to go to sea to expedition to the eastern Japanese, and what kind of false way is going to be done in Goryeo, which makes the maritime merchants panic. Their Fang family has violated the law on the sea road, and it is not a day or two to steal and sell pig iron gold and silver in Dazhao and Dongwei, and they are afraid that the ghost will knock on the door when they do bad things, and they can't get the essentials when they ask around, and after being anxious and sleepless for days and nights, they happened to meet Yuan Lan, and heard that Yuan Lan was going to come to see Shang Shangzhu, the initiator of the glass, so he ran with a strange heart.

Now, he already knew what he wanted to know, and he could also hear the hints and warnings in Shang Cheng's words. It seems that the imperial court is going to take action against the Eastern Widows, and the reason why they are not moved at the moment is that they are not moved to these maritime merchants who are in contact with the Eastern Widows, and probably hopes that they can take the initiative to stand up for their crimes and make meritorious contributions, send some sea ships to help with food and wages, and then help contact the local Haoqiang after arriving in the Eastern Widows, so as to appease these local snakes and not teach them to breed trouble......

Thinking through the joints, he stood up and bowed to Shang Chengshen: "Uncle Ying's kindness to life, Fang is grateful. After I go back today, I will repair a book and ask the government to take it to Mingzhou. Hundreds of people and hundreds of boats and boats in our Fang family will be dispatched by the officials from now on. Whoever dares to make a mistake will be expelled from the clan. He added, "When I go back, I will immediately contact other maritime merchants in Beijing and ask them to respond to the imperial court." ”

"You don't want to contact people, and you can't just talk to people. It's enough to do what you're supposed to do. Shang Cheng solemnly warned him, saying, "Don't just find a yamen and drill inside, it's useless to go in one by one." So, I'll write you a note, and you take it to the military headquarters. When you get there, someone will tell you how to do it. ”

"Do everything as your husband commands."

……