In fact, this is the essence of Gao Yue's principle of "no argument".

After all, he didn't want to get involved in the battle between the three divisions of the imperial court now.

The next day, a large number of merchants, half of whom were foreigners, including Persians with high noses and dark eyes and curly chestnut hair, stood in the front yard of the government office with sad faces.

Persian merchants mainly sold jewelry, and incidentally also operated mansions and inns;

The big food merchants mainly sold spices and also lent money.

Because Yangzhou is not far from the sea at this time, the ship can go directly from the Yangtze River to the sea to the east, and Dengzhou, Quanzhou, Guangzhou have frequent sea trade exchanges, in the early years Tian Shengong invaded Yangzhou, plundered the army, and killed thousands of Hu merchants.

"This province wants to set up a city ship department in the city, and ask the imperial court to send the nobles to collect the money and treasure money of the boat, so notify you in advance." Gao Yue got straight to the point.

At this time, a great Persian merchant with extraordinary bearing and dress stepped forward, saluted Gao Yue, and then said in half-baked Chinese: "Oh, don't be like this, honorable governor and duke, it is precisely to avoid the heavy taxes of the Duke of Guangzhou that we have come to Yangzhou, a beautiful and hospitable city. ”

Gu Xiu next to him introduced, this is this year's Persian food merchant Jia elected the "jewelry king", every year Yangzhou Hu Chamber of Commerce held a "treasure fight", the winner is the king, inaugurated as the "chief", this Persian businessman has taken a Chinese name, called "Hu Daoji".

"How did you remember that your surname was Hu?" Gao Yue asked curiously.

Then Hu Daoji said, we like to eat meat, so there is a strong smell that you Tang people don't like, so we have to cover it up with perfume, you Tang people say it smells like a fox, so they call us Hu Shang, the young man is called Hu Lang, and the young daughter's family is called Hu Ji, and he also said that we are all the incarnation of the fox demon, so we simply take Hu as the surname.

Gao Yue smiled dumbly, and couldn't help but think of the real fox charm when he was in Baili Yingtian.

And Yangzhou here, the legend of the fox charm that often appears, the prototype may be this group of Persian aliens, the Central Plains Han people are full of curiosity about their peculiar customs and appearance, wear chisels, and regard them as fox demons.

After Hu Daoji expressed his position, Japanese, Silla and Balhai merchants also hurriedly echoed the meeting, each expressing their willingness to enter the service to ensure safety.

Gao Yue said, "After that, you are allowed to buy land in the east of the city, and the priests of their own temples and priests are not allowed to concentrate on living in the "Persian Fang", "Da Shifang", "Silla Fang", etc., and are allowed to make a living in the city, but you are not allowed to intermarry with the Tang people, you are not allowed to wear fancy clothes, and you are exempted from the money for shipping, closing the market, and reading goods, but you must enter the money for the gift and the land.

This group of exotic businessmen thanked them and took their leave in turn.

Then there are merchants in Yangzhou City, Gao Yue opened his mouth, saying that the imperial court conquered Huaixi, and the sons lacked food and clothing, and Huaixi used river thieves and mountain sheds to ravage the river transportation in the Qihuang area, which also affected you to go to the west to colonize, so it is better to ......

"I am willing to give 20,000 yuan to the army." At this time, several businessmen who Xingyuan had settled in Yangzhou took the lead in standing up and said angrily.

So the other businessmen, knowing that even if they were protected by his envoy to the town, but in the face of Gao Yue, the servant of the Chinese book, this knife could not be dodged, so they also hardened their heads, or donated 10,000 yuan, or donated 35,000 yuan.

Gao Yue asked Gu Xiu to register one by one, and this time he raised almost 300,000 yuan.

"The salt merchants in Yangzhou City, although they all have huge fortunes and are full of fat, but none of them refuse to help the army." After nightfall, Gu Xiu talked to Gao Yue.

"This group of salt merchants, relying on the false valuation method over the years, has already made a lot of money, in fact, they also secretly handed over Huaixi, Xuanwu and other towns, and secretly engaged in private salt trade." Gao Yue sneered, "Huaixi has been able to support it for so many years, and there is also this reason in it. However, their good times will not last long, and I will take action first to defeat the group of dog-headed toad-like merchants in Huaixi, and then come to solve the salt merchants in Yangzhou. ”

"Huaixi merchants?"

"That's right......" Gao Yue said this, and suddenly pinched his fingers, as if calculating something, and then he laughed and said to Gu Xiu, "The tide letter has risen, and the matters I have arranged in advance should also be stable." ”

What Gao Yue said is true, at this moment, in Xingyuan, Xichuan, Xiangyang, Jiangling, Eyue, and Hunan, an unprecedented large-scale shipping is in full swing.

A month earlier, the soldiers and horses of the two generals of the Yining Army and the two generals of the Bao Da Army marched south along the Chencang Road from Fengxiang Mansion and arrived at the Xingyuan Mansion in Hanzhong under the leadership of the soldiers and horses envoys Fuyu Huai and Fan Xichao.

Immediately, the two generals of the Xingyuan Dingwu Army, as well as all the cavalry, the chariot gunners, and the five battalions of Feishan artillery, with Cai Fengyuan, Ming Huaiyi, and Guo Zaizhen as the main generals, and Su Pu and Zhang Xi as the deputy generals, will support the men and horses of Yu Huai and Fan Xichao, totaling 15,000, collect 500 Qianhu boats, and set off along the Han River and advance towards Xiangyang City.

At the same time, Wei Gao ordered his general Zhang Fen to lead the soldiers and horses of the two generals of the Fengyi Army to enter the Yangtze River by boat, cross the Three Gorges of Yuzhou, and sail to Jiangling in Jingnan.

Of course, Xingyuan's boats, soldiers and horses traveling from the Hanchuan waterway, the most painful is Ming Huaiyi, as a party member, he is not accustomed to water, he can only lie on the deck along the way, endure the waves and bumps, the mast in his eyes, actually high and low, as for the food, it is even more unbearable, how to get in from the mouth, how to come out of the mouth.

Finally, in a cheer, the fleet arrived at the Hanyin Post in Xiangyang City.

Zhang Xi, who was born as a Xuanshu person who was in charge of the boat, announced that all the soldiers could rest on the embankment in Xiangyang for half a day.

There is Hanyin in the west of Xiangyang, which is the place where the Han water enters the city; There are white sand and three continents in the east, which is the place where the white water crosses the city; To the south, there is also a sparse mouth to inject Xiangshui into the Han River. It can be said that surrounded by three rivers, in order to prevent floods, the successive officials of Xiangyang will spare no effort to build a tall embankment, over time, the embankment in addition to flood control, but also has the function of passage and commerce, ships pass through it, shops are listed on it, very cheap.

The soldiers of Dingwu, Yining, and Baoda began to climb the embankment to "rest".

Behind the various trees of the embankment, there are all kinds of shops, selling food and pastries, clothes, shoes and hats, as well as many bewitching women, Hu and Han, standing there with affectionate eyebrows and soliciting business.

This is the famous "embankment" in Xiangyang (the commercial circle, from Xiangyang along the Han River to Yicheng more than 100 miles away in the south, the embankment is continuous), and the poems of the Tang people about it are also magnificent:

"Coming to Xiangyang in the morning, going to the embankment at dusk, the daughters of the embankment, the flowers are amazing."

"There are many beautiful women in the south, such as the girl of the embankment, the soul is made by itself, and the color is happy."

"Young Xiangyangdi, come to live in Xiangyang City. The light and thin son in the city, the concubine understands Qin Zheng. ”

Even the old master Meng Haoran, who has always been simple, also wrote, "The embankment is a place of pleasure, and the carriages and horses gallop together...... Wang Sun carries beads, and the wandering girl ...... socks".

"Gross!" When Ming Huaiyi was put on the embankment by the two brothers, and several enchantresses of Yingying Yanyan were just about to come to greet the general, Ming Huaiyi's eyes rolled directly, and he dragged his legs weakly, and then the liquid that vomited out was flying down.