The case of the water ghost was solved, making Qin Mubai and Li Ke famous and majestic in the land of Jingxiang!

The water ghost party left over from the former Sui and for decades to plague the Han River was completely broken, Du Chengyuan and Wei Huanchen, the two earth overlords, fell overnight, and Duan Rongji and Ouyang Jun, the two local gentry, were taken down with one move, all of which seemed to have happened overnight.

When the news came out, Jing Xiang was shocked and deafened!

For ordinary people, a rural Baojia and Lizheng are all "big people", and a casual sentence may change the fate of a family. As for the county orders and the officers of the army, it is needless to say that they are like people who eat imperial food, they can only be used to look up. For many years, Wei Huanchen and Du Chengyuan and others have been the uncrowned emperor in the eyes of the people of Jingxiang. Many people only know Wei Du and do not know the Son of Heaven.

Just when they hadn't memorized the names of Li Ke and Qin Mubai, Wei Du and the others were all taken down by the two of them and stewed in a pot!

Such speed and decisiveness, like a quick knife cutting through the flames of the prairie fire, lightning and deafness, people are caught off guard and thrilled!

Overnight, the names of Li Ke and Qin Mubai resounded throughout Jingxiang.

The soul of gossip of the Chinese people seems to come from the ancestral tradition, and at this moment, the soul of gossip of the people of Jingxiang is burning fiercely. From the day it was published, many versions of the story began to be passed down by word of mouth among the people. Under the performance of some talented gossip kings, the story of Li Ke and Qin Mubai fighting water ghosts was widely spread. In different versions of the legend, Li Ke and Qin Mubai are either incarnated as Zhuge Liang's "wise and almost demonic" gods, or incarnated as a strengthened version of Li Kui who fights a hundred and cuts ten streets without changing his color and breathlessness.

In places of leisure such as the liquor shop, there are also all kinds of songs used to chant the deeds and merits of the two men, telling stories that they exaggerate a hundred times more. There are also some idle young ladies or official royal literati, starting from various mentalities, writing countless poems singing praises of virtue and narrating events, or circulating in the form of ink treasures, or directly inscribed on the walls of scenic spots and famous shops for people to circulate and watch.

The power of the soul of gossip is powerful, and the efficiency of gossip by word of mouth is not much worse than the efficiency of modern high-tech media. It didn't take long for Li Ke and Qin Mubai, two mortal figures in the flesh, to be deified by the people of Jingxiang and turned into a glorious "legend", reaching a height that could only be looked upon.

What's more worth mentioning is that the amorous Jingxiang woman has since had two more spring boudoir dream people to miss. handsome, bloodline and noble Wu King Li Ke; Qin Mubai, a young hero who is also dashing and wise, ...... I don't know how many women and maidens have heard their names and their hearts tremble; Late at night, the spring heart is rippling, and I feel even more lonely.

At this moment, Qin Mubai, who is one of the legends, is living no different than usual. After the hustle and bustle, he enjoyed the calm of the moment. I stayed in the barracks for a few days, and I have been busy cleaning up the barracks and taking care of military affairs.

The case of the water ghost was solved, and there were many people in the Xiangzhou military government who were implicated, and more than 10 officers of all sizes were dismissed from their posts and questioned for their crimes, and more than half of the left battalion naval army was dismissed.

Qin Mubai knew that this was the best time to rectify the military government and establish Enwei. Breaking and standing up is equivalent to starting all over again. It is most beneficial for him to completely break the old revolution.

So, Qin Mubai issued a military order to recruit government soldiers. A major personnel change was carried out at all levels of the entire military government, which in fact was a radical rebirth of the personnel structure of the entire military government. Although the hundred horsemen brought from Chang'an produced a black sheep, it did not affect their status and ability, nor did it affect Qin Mubai's trust in them. Among the remaining 30 people, except for Pang Fei, who had already served as the lieutenant of Guoyi, more than half of the others were appointed as grass-roots direct officers such as team commanders, brigade commanders, and captains, or they were in charge of the core confidential departments such as cavalry Cao, grain Cao, and Xuan Cao.

Even Du Chengyuan and Zhao Chong have been uprooted, who still has the ability to argue with Qin Mubai in the military government? Therefore, Qin Mubai is almost a dictatorship doing all these things. With a stroke of the pen or a movement of the lips, the matter was settled, and no one raised any doubts.

Datang, a martial country, has never worried about the source of soldiers. Two days after the list was issued, under the call of Qin Mubai's prestige, the camp was full in an instant. Because there were too many people who joined the army, they had to pick and choose and choose, and at the same time sent away a group of old, young and weak soldiers in the general's palace, and there was a big blood change.

After the rebirth and blood change, the Xiangzhou military government instantly became vibrant. Qin Mubai ordered that because it was a large-scale mix, the whole battalion, whether it was a veteran or a recruit, a Vietnamese cavalry recruit or an ordinary government soldier, all began to practice again. The subjects practiced were naturally all brand-new and approved by Qin Mubai personally. The elite 100 cavalry officers have infiltrated every detail of the military government, and will give full play to their advantages in technical warfare and military affairs to the greatest extent, and drive the entire military government to flourish.

To rectify the military government, Qin Mubai worked very hard. Because he knows that he is a general in his own right. If you don't make some achievements in the military, and other tricks are too good, it is unreasonable. He didn't expect to train these ordinary people in the Xiangzhou Military Mansion to be like a hundred horsemen. But at the very least, they must be made "the elite of the government soldiers".

Don't seek to climb to the top and create the Extreme Ancient Shining Gold, but do everything a little harder and better than others, this has always been Qin Mubai's habit.

A few days later, Qin Mubai, who had been busy for a long time, could finally take a break and go out for a while on the premise that the situation in the military government was stable and everything was on the right track.

Yesterday, King Wu sent a letter to say that Zheng Anshun had not shown up since he was rescued, and had stayed in Jingzhou for a long time. No matter how you say it, you have to see him.

And this "big disaster" really surprised Qin Mubai a little. That is, the water ghost party has hoarded an extremely large amount of official food and official salt in the past few years. Li Ke invited Qin Mubai to meet, and also had the intention of discussing countermeasures and how to deal with this pile of things.

Qin Mubai handed over the military affairs to Pang Fei, simply cleaned up, and left the barracks to go to the Assassin's Mansion. On the way, he pondered for a while, and thought, although Pang Fei is loyal and obedient, and the things he explains can be done, he always feels that he is not capable enough at present, and he always feels a little uneasy when he wants to stand alone. If only there was a sturdy right-hand man by his side. Think of a way to see if you can "borrow" Xue Rengui to the military government to use it. Anyway, he is also an officer of the royal palace, and his military registration and official position are no different from those of officers in the government military system, and it is common for them to be transferred to each other. When you get to the place, as long as you, the captain, and Li Ke, the assassin, nod their heads, and symbolically report to the military department, they will be able to do it.

When I arrived in the backyard of the Assassin's Mansion, I heard Li Ke's hearty laughter from a distance. He and Zheng Anshun sat in the hall, not knowing what they were talking about, extremely speculative and happy.

"Look, the Great Hero of Qin is here, haha!" Both stood up to greet each other.

Qin Mubai stepped forward quickly and said with a smile: "How dare you bother His Royal Highness King Wu and Young Master Zheng to greet him?" Torment! ”

"Huh! Jingxiang's most famous heroes are here, who would dare not greet them? Li Ke laughed, "I'm really shining!" ”

"Alright, don't be sarcastic." Qin Mubai smiled, turned his head and arched his hand to Zheng Anshun, and said, "Brother Zheng, it's really a shame that you have suffered from a period of imprisonment!" ”

"It's okay." Zheng Anshun waved his hand with a smile, "Although I was imprisoned, I didn't suffer any outrageous abuse." The food and drink are well served, but there is no His Highness and a confidant and friend like Brother Qin to raise a glass and drink together, and he is very depressed for a while. ”

"Haha, then you must not get drunk today!" Li Ke laughed, walked into the hall with the shoulders of the two of them left and right, and said, "Anyway, I've been looking forward to it for some time today." After the water ghost case was solved, I was busy with government affairs and rectifying the government office, Mu Bai returned to the camp to reorganize the military camp, and Brother Zheng was also cleaning up the aftermath in Jingzhou, this hope is more than half! Today, the three of us are finally together. Didn't say it, share the table, use the big one! ”

"Listen to Jun's orders!" Qin Mubai and Zheng Anshun both responded with laughter.

Sharing a table is not a simple matter of putting the table together to eat. Datang attaches great importance to etiquette and humility. Even if a family eats together, it is also an orderly order for the elders and young, and everyone eats at separate tables. Not to mention when it comes to royalty. Whoever should sit there, it is all in order, and no one dares to cross the thunder pool by half a step. As a result, there is such a most polite and noble way to treat people as "sharing a table". For example, in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the three brothers Liu Guan and Zhang "eat at the same table and sleep together", which is a typical distinction between dignity and inferiority, and they are close to each other.

The table was put together, and soon the good wine and food were brought up. Qin Mubai rumbled in his stomach, and said with a smile: "Haha, after eating dried fish, vegetables, leaves and brown rice in the barracks for half a month, today can be regarded as a tooth sacrifice." The chef in your house can, Your Highness, these are all famous dishes that are only available in the palace! ”

"Of course, you don't see who you're entertaining!" Li Ke squeezed his eyebrows and smiled, and said, "We are all from Chang'an, and when we arrive in a foreign land, we should miss Chang'an's dishes in this stomach, right?" Haha, come, move your chopsticks, you must eat and drink well today! ”

"Please!"

After three rounds of eating and drinking, the three of them were addicted to pain.

"As the saying goes, there are fewer than a thousand glasses of wine for a confidant. I haven't drunk alcohol in the barracks for a few days, so today I opened my belly and had a good drink with the two of you. Qin Mubai came to toast with a large glass.

"Don't rush, don't drink too fast. Otherwise, it won't be good to get drunk and fall to the ground. Li Ke waved his hand, and the two knew that he had something to say, so they put down the cup and listened to him.

"Today, while the wine is happy, I also have some things I want to discuss with you." Li Ke said to Qin Mubai, "When you didn't come, I had already discussed a rough idea with Brother Zheng, and now I want to hear your opinion." ”

"Well, Your Highness, please speak."

Li Ke said: "Although the water ghost case has been solved, Xiangzhou has actually suffered a heavy blow, especially the commercial port. First of all, the two official merchants of Zhengchang Grain and Yongye Salt Mill have collapsed, and the transfer and distribution of grain and salt have been problematic for a while, and I have personally sent government officials to manage them temporarily. However, after all, the government is not a businessman, and it does not have their mature management methods and management methods, so the effect is not ideal. In addition, Duan Rongji and Ouyang Jun, the two leaders of the business world, were overthrown, and many Xiangzhou businessmen related to them were frightened, or closed their doors to avoid the limelight, or moved their families to find another way to make a living. I have repeatedly sent people to appease me, but to no avail. It's not good. Xiangzhou's commercial ports and wharves have always been the most important source of revenue. If the commercial port is not reopened as soon as possible, the people's livelihood and tax revenue of the whole state will definitely fall into a big trouble. ”

"That's why I consulted Brother Zheng. Originally, my opinion was that the Zheng family wanted to take over the official grain number and salt mill in Xiangzhou. Li Ke said, "With the prestige and ability of the Zheng family, it is expected that the commercial port will be reorganized and restored to life in a very short period of time." ”

"Yes, there is indeed no more suitable candidate than the Zheng family." Qin Mubai nodded, "Is there anything else to discuss?" ”

"However, Brother Zheng, he refused." Li Ke shook his head and smiled bitterly, "You can help me persuade him." ”

Zheng Anshun smiled and said, "Your Highness, didn't you explain it to you clearly?" Brother Qin, it's better for you to avoid opening your mouth. ”

Qin Mubai frowned suspiciously: "Then Brother Zheng, can you tell me the reason for your refusal?" ”

"Absolutely." Zheng Anshun nodded happily and said, "Historically, businesses have had the rules and habits of merchants. Although our Zheng family has done business all over the prefectures and counties of the Tang Dynasty, we have never touched the place of Xiangzhou. As for the reason, I have explained it to the two of you before. In a word, the businessmen of Xiangzhou have always held a resistant and disgusted attitude towards my Chang'an Zheng family. Now, although the two leading figures Duan Rongji and Ouyang Jun have been overthrown, it is not so easy to change the Chen Nian of the Xiangzhou businessmen. The most important thing in running a government-affiliated business store is channels and contacts. If the local gentry are disgusted with us, it will be difficult to do business. Whether or not to make money is secondary, and substances like grain and salt cannot be delayed. If there is a delay or delay in the process of transshipment and distribution, it can mean that tens of thousands of people face famine and salt shortage, or the army is in danger of running out of food. This kind of risk is not something that anyone can afford to bear. ”

"How so?" Li Ke frowned and said, "Could it be that if you get the official food and official salt in your hand, there will still be a situation where you can't distribute it?" Merchants from all channels, don't they make money if they have it? ”

"Not really, Your Highness." Qin Mubai said, "Although I am an outsider in business, I have been with Wu Meiniang, and I have some knowledge of the doorway. As the saying goes, peers are jealous. In addition to win-win cooperation among businessmen, there is also competition and competition. When you make a lot of money, people will be jealous and want to earn more than you, and maybe they will use some bad tricks to ruin your business. Even if they don't necessarily make more money, they are happy to see that you are earning less. Although it is a minority, there is no shortage of such people in the world. If the merchants of Xiangzhou were generally hostile to the Zheng family in Chang'an, it would be even more difficult to say what was going on. As Brother Zheng said, whether to make money or not is secondary, and if you also bear unforeseen potential risks because of this, it is indeed not worth it. In business, especially for people like the Zheng family who do big business, the most important thing is not whether the profits are abundant, but whether the risks and costs of the business are commensurate with the profits. Am I right, Brother Zheng? ”

"That's true, Brother Qin is really a fellow practitioner." Zheng Anshun nodded and smiled, and said, "It's not that Zheng doesn't have the confidence to do business in Xiangzhou, but it really can't achieve the effect that His Highness said." In other words, I cannot reorganize the paralyzed Xiangzhou commercial port in a very short period of time. I suggest that His Highness should choose an experienced, powerful, and potential lord who is unfamiliar to the local merchants of Xiangzhou to take over the position left by Duan Rongji and Ouyang Jun and serve as the leader of the Xiangzhou commercial port. It is better for this person to be younger, to act vigorously and decisively, and His Highness should provide him with strong government support, so that it can be most effective. ”

Qin Mubai nodded and smiled, and said in his heart: Zheng Anshun is really a genius businessman. What he said sounded unpretentious, but it contained a well-known business philosophy in the 21st century - the catfish effect.

Fishermen transport sardines, but the fish is so delicate that it always has a high mortality rate due to lack of oxygen. Obviously, dead fish are not worth more than live fish, so the fishermen tried their best to find countermeasures, and finally came up with a clever solution - in the fish warehouse where the sardines are transported, stocking a carnivorous catfish!

In this way, in the process of transportation, sardines, who have a lazy personality and like tranquility, have to swim and escape in order to escape the predation of natural predators. Thus, the problem of the fish dying from lack of oxygen was solved. Moreover, "life lies in movement", sardines that move wildly under the stimulation of survival instinct are more vivid than when they were first caught!

Therefore, in the management of enterprises and personnel, this catfish effect is widely used. In a lifeless group, introduce a strong competitive figure to stimulate other members to "fight back", so as to achieve the effect of activating the whole group. Practice has proved that this trick is far more effective than the internal rectification of changing the soup without changing the medicine, and the system reform of raising the soup and stopping the boiling.

Qin Mubai brought a group of 100 horsemen from Chang'an, and cut out the old soldiers and rerecruited new recruits to inject them into the military government, which is actually using the "catfish effect" to rebuild the military government.

Of course, Zheng Anshun has never learned this kind of thing, but he has learned this truth from his family cultivation and business experience. Such a concept may be common to us, but for the ancients who advocated moderation, it was really very advanced, and it can be said to be ahead of the times.

Otherwise, how could the Zheng family in Chang'an become the richest man in the Tang Dynasty? If there is something out of the ordinary, how can it be.

"Mu Bai, what is your opinion?" After listening to Zheng Anshun's words, Li Ke asked Qin Mubai again.

"Brother Zheng said it very well, I raised my hands in approval." Qin Mubai nodded and praised, "The Zheng family's insight is really unusual, I admire it!" ”

"Where, Brother Qin praised it falsely." Zheng Anshun smiled modestly, "Compared with Brother Qin's great wisdom and courage and magnificent elegance, Zheng's trick is really not on the table." ”

Li Ke was distressed, and muttered: "If you want an experienced, powerful, potential, and young, energetic and courageous businessman, where can I find it for a while?" ”

Zheng Anshun smiled confidently: "Why does Your Highness bother to find a candidate, isn't there one in front of you?" ”

"Me?" Qin Mubai immediately laughed, "Don't be funny, how is it possible!" ”

"That's right, he's a general, how does a general do business! …… Wait a minute! Li Ke reacted quickly, his eyes suddenly became bright, and he slapped his fist and laughed, "Yes, yes!" I didn't think of that! ”

Qin Mubai grinned: "How can I smell a hint of conspiracy?" ”

"Wu Meiniang!" Zheng Anshun and Qin Mubai said in unison, and then slapped their palms and laughed together.

"Sure enough......" Qin Mubai shook his head with a sigh, "I knew that you didn't have a good heart when you called me." Such a mess still has to be spread on my head and let me clean it up. ”

"Don't talk nonsense, it's you." Li Ke rubbed his hands and said with a wicked smile that succeeded in his treacherous scheme, "Wu Meiniang, she has experience, strength, and potential, and she is a business wizard that even the old man of the Zheng family praises." What's more, she is young, courageous, and has a ruthlessness that dares to fight, which is the most wonderful. In addition, when she arrived in Xiangzhou, she had the king of this mansion to support her, and you, a majestic and admired general, gave her strength, what else could not be done? That's it! Tomorrow, I will send someone to Chang'an to pick up Wu Meiniang! ”

The corners of Qin Mubai's mouth twitched a few times, and he muttered, "Then what about her business in Chang'an?" As far as I know, he just bought a store and installed a spring a few years ago, and he has no money left, how can he come to Xiangzhou to do business? - Don't count on me, General Ben has a clean breeze on his sleeves, and he is a poor Qing official! ”

"Haha!" Li Ke and Zheng Anshun both laughed. At the end, Li Ke said again: "Qin Xiange is just a wine shop, no matter how well it is run, is it worth the people in the whole state to eat food and salt to help her make money?" There are still people in the samurai family, so leave the wine shop to someone else to take care of! As for the capital of doing business in Xiangzhou - Zheng Dagongzi is here, why worry about money? ”

"Isn't that okay?" Qin Mubai said, "How can you take the Zheng family's money and do your own business?" ”

"Let me tell you that, Brother Qin." Zheng Anshun said with a smile, "Regarding how to deal with this large amount of grain and salt left by the water ghosts, His Royal Highness has discussed with Zheng for a long time, and His Royal Highness has also written to the emperor to obey the holy will. As a result, the holy will was issued, saying that this batch of thieves was originally the property of the official family, and it should be confiscated into the public property and returned to the original owner. Originally, it was supposed to be transported to Chang'an and Luoyang, and stored in the imperial court warehouse. However, the quantity is too large to be transported and stored for a while. Therefore, His Majesty decided to keep half of it in Xiangzhou and sell it locally in the form of official grain and salt. After returning the original profits, the grain tax and salt tax will be paid one after another. That is to say, half of the hundreds of thousands of stone of grain and official salt will now be given on credit free of charge, and the merchants who will take over the grain stores and salt numbers sent by the government will sell them first, and then pay the taxes after the money is sold. Moreover, out of reward and appeasement, the emperor specially decreed that within two years, the official grain and salt merchants in Xiangzhou would only collect half a tax. Brother Qin, this is probably the best business in the world. To put it bluntly, it is a business without capital, and the profit is huge and the profit is not lost. ”

How could Qin Mubai not understand, his eyes widened a little for a while: "There is such a good thing?" I dare to love the two of you who have been fooling around together for most of the day, in fact, they are just giving me a taste of sweetness! ”

"Haha, you finally get it!" Zheng Anshun laughed, and then said seriously, "Brother Qin has made this great contribution, not only His Royal Highness is grateful for your virtue, but Zheng is grateful for your life-saving grace, and even His Majesty the Emperor is also interested in rewarding him." The imperial court reduced taxes, isn't that the benefit of His Highness's Thorn Mansion? ”

"Not bad." Li Ke said with a smile, "Half of the tax revenue of hundreds of thousands of stones, grains and salt, such a huge profit, I dare to swallow it alone?" Apart from you Qin Mubai, who else is qualified to share with me? ”

"So, to put it bluntly today, it's just the three of us sitting on the ground and sharing the spoils?" Qin Mubai said with a smile.

"Haha, almost!" Li Ke also smiled and said, "Brother Zheng is responsible for transporting half of the grain and salt to Guanzhong, and it will be distributed by the Zheng family at that time." Brother Zheng is a contented and honest person, and after making this money, he has no heart to snatch this stubble in our hands. What do you think, Mu Bai. Money is a good thing, why don't you ask your Mei Niang to come over and help divide the money? ”

"Roger!" Qin Mubai snapped his fingers, the joy in his heart!

This trip was not in vain!

Blatantly sit on the ground and share the spoils, from today onwards, I, Qin, will become an explosive household! Moreover, it won't be long before Wu Meiniang will become the king of the business world in Xiangzhou, a land of rich resources, without any suspense.

With such repeated tossing, it's really hard to think of a lot of money!