When I arrived at the Fengtian Temple, the lights were bright, and I saw the figures inside through the door.

Hou Xuanyan pushed the door in, and the chaotic crowd suddenly quieted down, and a pair of eyes flashed with a complicated gaze, staring at him in unison.

A middle-aged man with fair skin and a wealthy body got up and said, "I've seen Lord Hou." ”

If the businessmen in Jinling act in groups, it is inevitable that they will have their own small groups, and since there is a small group, there will be such a person with the highest prestige. This person is the middle-aged white-faced man in front of him, named Wu Jikun. As soon as he spoke, everyone else also bent down and said, "Meet Lord Hou." ”

Hou Xuanyan walked straight to the top, took the teacup handed by his own soldiers, moistened his throat, and said: "You are all gentry and wealthy businessmen in Jinling, and the industry is all over the south of the Yangtze River. After speaking, he blew the tea leaves and raised his eyes to look at the people in the hall.

Wu Jikun smiled, lowered his head and said, "I'm stupid and guessing, isn't the Governor for the business tax?" ”

Hou Xuanyan blew for a long time, raised his head and drank the tea, and said with a smile: "Yes, you are Wu Jikun, right?" ”

"It's Xiaomin."

Hou Xuanyan said: "Don't be humble to shopkeeper Wu, what kind of people are you, I heard that shopkeeper Wu's industry is all over the south of the Yangtze River, and even there are many weaving workshops in Suzhou. It's no wonder that the shopkeeper Wu saw through the official's intention at a glance, in your weaving workshop in Suzhou, but the first to respond to the official, I have it in mind. ”

Wu Jikun's industry is all over the south of the Yangtze River, how can he not know about the Ye family in Kunshan, it is said that the family does not even have half of the life left. Changzhou, which was close in front of him, was even more killed, and finally even the city was burned. The smiling governor in front of him is kind and ruthless. Hou Xuan's reputation for acting as a murderer is outside, and these people naturally don't dare to touch his moldy head, they just want more benefits.

Wu Jikun said cautiously: "I heard that the merchants in Suzhou, after paying taxes, have gained a lot of convenience from opening the sea to trade..."

Hou Xuanyan interrupted: "Haha, this matter is easy to say, as long as you are willing to set an example and show other state capitals in Yingtian, then you are your own people." I, Hou Xuanyan, have never treated my own people badly, Suzhou is under our Ming rule, Jinling is not, how can I treat it differently. ”

Wu Jikun and others were overjoyed, as long as there was convenience at sea and they could be escorted by sailors, then they would not break their muscles and bones if they paid a little commercial tax.

After sending these God of Wealth away, only one person had not left, Hou Xuanyan asked, "Do you have anything else?" ”

"Back to my uncle, the villain is responsible for taking care of the Gu family's property in Jinling, and the owner wrote that he has cleaned up for his uncle in the other courtyard in Jinling, and asked his uncle to live in the courtyard temporarily."

Hou Xuanyan said happily: "It's rare for Taigong to think thoughtfully, this hall is in disrepair and dilapidated. A few days ago, it was wantonly destroyed by the Tartars, and the hall was full of the smell of horse urine, and I had long wanted to change places. ”

The Gu family's courtyard was really comfortable, and the exhausted Hou Xuanyan woke up refreshed. The cooks in the house are all masters invited from Yangzhou in the past, and after enjoying a table of breakfast, Hong Yixun came to the house sneakily.

Hou Xuanyan looked at him dressed in black, and couldn't help but quip: "Lang Lang Qiankun in broad daylight, even if you are a thief in your clothes in the middle of the night, you still look like a thief, what kind of trouble is this." ”

Hong Yixun sat down by himself, and said with a smile while eating: "This is all used to it." ”

"What's the matter with coming so early?"

Hong Yixun said in a low voice: "Big brother, Hong Chengchou is dead." ”

Hou Xuanyan's hands holding chopsticks shook and asked, "How did you die?" ”

In the Battle of Changzhou, he led a group of soldiers and horses to Jiangyin and defeated Zhang Huangyan. After the victory, Hong Chengchou killed himself by the river, he must have known that we had a big victory, this old traitor was afraid, he was afraid that his master would kill the whole family, so he didn't dare to cross the river. ”

Hou Xuanyan was silent, sighed and said: "You underestimated him, I think he chose to commit suicide when he saw the dawn of the anti-Qing Dynasty." Let's take Jinling, the strength of the Manchu Qing has been frustrated, and if they want to consolidate the north, they must rely more on the Han generals. In order to encircle Kong Youde and Wu Sangui, the generals of the Han Eight Banners, even if Dolgon hated it, he would only pretend to be generous and protect Hong Chengchou.

What kind of person Hong Chengchou is, how can he not see this, he chose not to cross the river, just because he saw the hope of the recovery of the Han family.

This person has been immersed in officialdom for many years, and he has long seen through the terminal illness of the Ming Dynasty, and he himself has become a traitor, bent on turning all Han people in the world into Manchurian slaves. Now that we are opening up the situation in Jiangnan, this traitor is afraid. He was afraid that he would be left stinking for 10,000 years, and others would be nailed to the pillar of shame, so he would not dare to cross the river and continue to serve the Manchurians. ”

Hong Yixun seemed to understand whether he understood or not, and Hou Xuanyan smiled: "I'm just guessing, let's not talk about him, we will go outside the city with me in a while to welcome the people of Qinglong Mountain into the city." ”

Hong Yixun was attracted by the delicious taste of a table, his appetite was great, and he drank the porridge and said, "Okay, listen to the eldest brother." ”

Facing the rising sun, the cool breeze outside Jinling City was gusting, and a group of people and horses like Huazi in the distance slowly walked towards the city gate. A few old oxen carried the old and weak, women and children, and the others were on foot.

Zhou Wenwu looked around at his subordinates on the only thin horse, frowned and said: "Tidy up your clothes, you will look like this for a while, don't look at the jokes of Lord Xiaohou and the officials of Jinling." After speaking, he pointed to the young man who was escorting the Tartar and scolded: "Risheng, especially you." On such a grand day, you come out with a fucking open crotch pants, and Lao Tzu can see a lump of your crotch dangling on a horse, what does it look like? ”

The thin black boy grinned and said, "Chief, I'm just going to have this pair of pants." ”

"Shame!"

Risheng was ashamed in his heart, and turned to vent on the Tartar, he whipped Duoduo and scolded: "The grandfathers lack clothes and wear less, they are all caused by your dog Tartars, I think Lao Tzu was also a young master." You savages, you are richly dressed,"

Suddenly, he rolled his eyes and said, "Chief, let's strip these Tartars to make them even more embarrassed, and Lord Xiaohou and the people of Jinling won't notice us." ”

"Well, good idea."

Duoduo understood Chinese, and his mouth was stuffed with strips of cloth, and his eyes struggled. When the other Tartars saw their master's crazy appearance, they also glared at them, and the brutality of these lives scared Risheng half to death.

The men behind him swarmed up, stripped a dozen Tartars naked, and looted their clothes.

Zhou Wenwu frowned and scolded: "These people have more strength than cattle, they have been hungry for three days, and they are still so vigorous." I tied them to the oxen and dragged them into the city, and I wanted to see if they were still making trouble. ”