Outside the city of Huai'an, there is a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, and the smoke of gunpowder fills the entire suburbs.

In a mansion in the city, the garden is full of stones, flowers and trees, a winding corridor, and the wonderful thing is that it is a shallow pond, the water surface is as flat as a mirror, and it is clear to the crystal.

If you look closely at the pond, you can see that the water is paved with white marble, and there are vivid statues carved on it. There is the appearance of a singer and a dancing girl, and there are also some scenery in the south of the Yangtze River, the carving is so fine that even the five-finger flowers the size of walnuts are carved clearly, the clothes are flying into the sky, the eyebrows are like the same, and some places deliberately blur a few strokes, but the beautiful lines revealed are more ancient.

In the center of the pool, there is a high pavilion with cornices, and there are three middle-aged men in brocade clothes in the pavilion, who are sitting opposite each other and drinking tea.

There are such rich people in Huai'an, almost all of them are salt merchants, and the pavilion is the leader of the two Huai salt merchants, Cheng Liangjin, Huang Tingchou, Ma Yilu, each of them has a wealth of not less than 10 million taels of silver. Although there are only three people, they control almost all of the salt transportation.

Cheng Liangjin was dressed in white, handsome, and looked not like a businessman, but like a personable literati. If it weren't for a bare pigtail on the top of his head, his appearance would be enough to make the girl who had seen him feel spring. Although Cheng Liangjin was young, his father Cheng Zhiyun communicated with the puppet Qing court very early, and there were many old friends of their Cheng family in the Manchu and Qing dynasties. He took a sip of the best Huangjian tea and sighed: "The general trend of the world has been clearly defined, and it is the will of heaven to prosper and die in the Qing Dynasty, who knew that a Hou Xuanyan would suddenly appear." This kid is not making waves in Jiangnan, but now he has hit Huai'an. Hou Xuan's methods, there is no need to repeat it with the little nephew, Huang Jianling and his son in Yangzhou are the best examples. The two uncles are the elders of the little nephews, and at this time the survival of our two Huai salt merchants is at stake, I don't know if the two of them have a few words of gold and jade to save me from this difficulty? ”

is also a wealthy businessman on the rich side, Huang Tingchou doesn't look so good, he is five short and slightly obese. With white and chubby cheeks, strangers will look very cute, and those who are familiar with him dare not think so. This man is the most cunning and cunning, and his methods are vicious and vicious, offending his small businessmen, and he is often ruined by his whole family, and it is better to die than to die. There was once a shopkeeper of his, who was in charge of a shop for him, and made a lot of money because of his good business. Later, the shopkeeper saved some money and prepared to set up his own business, not wanting to use his talent to work for others. If it is an ordinary owner, it must be a good gathering and dispersal, and it may also talk about it. But Huang Tingchou secretly used the money, used three indiscriminate means to find a mess and find trouble, beat the shopkeeper half to death, and insulted the shopkeeper's wife and daughter in front of his eyes. Generally, people who have reached his status, relying on their own identity, are unwilling to do such an absolute thing. But Huang Tingchou is like an alternative, this person has no bottom line.

Huang Tingsu lowered his head and laughed, and said: "Xiao Cheng doesn't have to be too humble, we two Huai salt merchants are only Cheng Jia's horses, what do you say, I and Lao Ma will do it." As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Xilu nodded with a smile.

There was no one in this garden except three people, and there were slaves on the periphery, protecting them inside. But Cheng Liangjin still lowered his voice and said softly: "We are all profit-seeking businessmen, whether we are clear or clear, there is no need to tie ourselves to one of them." The horses were tethered to pillars, so they could be fed, but they also lost a large area of pasture outside. ”

Ma and Huang glanced at each other, Huang Tingshu bowed slightly, and asked in a low voice, "What do you mean?" ”

Cheng Liang raised his eyebrows and said: "Since Hou Xuanyan is an outlier, the best way is to strangle him, otherwise the money we invested in the full people will be wasted." But now he is in the limelight, quite like the momentum of Zhu Yuanzhang, who was a mud-legged man back then, if he is lucky, we can't lead the neck to be slaughtered. It's better to send someone to his military camp to promise benefits, hand over a layer of relationship first, and then we will wait for Wakda and Hou Xuanyan to fight. Hou Xuan's defeat is naturally the best result, in case he wins, we will be Gu Youde of Suzhou and Wu Jikun of Jinling, why not? ”

Huang Ting smiled but didn't smile, and his high-pitched voice made people feel uncomfortable when they heard it: "What does the virtuous nephew mean, to be a wall grass?" ”

Cheng Liang's face was not good, and Ma Yilu hurriedly said: "The grass on the wall is good, the grass on the wall seems to be soft and weak, but it can ride on the wall forever." The weeds on the ground wanted to reach this height, but they couldn't. As a grass, not only higher than other grasses, but also above flowers, birds and trees, isn't it exactly the realm that we businessmen are pursuing. ”

The three of them glanced at each other, and suddenly laughed together, shaking their fingers and pointing at each other, and they had a tacit understanding with each other. The reason why the three of them have been standing tall and have always controlled the salt transportation of the two Huai is because of their cooperative relationship. Joining forces to suppress the rising stars, many amazing business wizards have been strangled by them on the way to starting a business. The three of them gradually laughed wildly, and there was a lot of smugness in them.

After a long while, Cheng Liangjin, who stopped laughing, said: "We have to envelop Hou Xuanyan, this matter must be kept secret, and the news must not be leaked, otherwise it will be spread by others, let Wakda know, this Tartar will definitely not give up." ”

"Don't worry, don't worry, in Huai'an, the three of us don't want people to know, even the emperor doesn't want to hear about it. On the contrary, we should think carefully about how to envelop Hou Xuanyan and buy this life talisman. "Ma Yilu is the most cautious among the three people, and he is also the most concerned about this two-pleasing idea, and he only thinks that this method is very wonderful and in line with his heart.

Cheng Liangjin laughed and said: "What's so difficult about this, as long as a person has a desire, if he has a desire, he can be bought with money." I heard that Hou Xuan played this person's problems, among which greed for money and lust are the most obvious. Ma Shiying fell into Jiangnan and almost begged, just because he offered a daughter and became a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion; Wu Jikun built a Longtan Port, and he was happy to carry a pen and send a plaque. Now that we know his fetish, how much more money and beauty do we have? ”

The businessmen of Lianghuai are indeed qualified to say this, and few people can compare to them compared to money beauties.

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In the big tent of the Chinese army in the Northern Expedition barracks, Zhu Dadian and Li Haoxian stood in the tent, Hou Xuanyan sat on a chair, crossed his legs and asked: "After Wu Yi's surrender letter was handed over, has the defenders of Qingjiangpu increased?" ”

Li Haoxian shook his head and said, "No, Wakda has been frightened, and it seems to Huai'an that he wants to stalemate with us." ”

Hou Xuanyan sat up and said with a smile: "You don't know them, he is beaming at the moment, thinking that he has seen through my plan." Give him another dose of eye medicine tonight, and send a few of the captives back to ventilate the news, our acting skills are so inferior, the captives must have told Wakda when they go back, and then he should be even more suspicious and confused. ”

Li Haoxian's face twisted, scratched his head, and stepped forward to ask: "Commander, do you want him to believe it or not, let alone Tartar Wakda, I am confused." ”

Hou Xuanyan glanced at his favorite general, scratched his ears and cheeks in a hurry, and couldn't help but say: "You remember, the strategy is dead, and the person is alive." There is no tried-and-true strategy for marching and fighting, only flexibility is the king. I don't want him to believe or not to believe it, but I have a plan to deal with it when he believes it, and he doesn't believe that I have it, and I have no place to die. I'm afraid that his heart is like a water stop in the ancient well, relying on the Zheng family's artillery and ammunition, and the thick walls of Huai'an's high city, and we will be consumed here, making it difficult for us to build the eastern route of the Northern Expedition. All in all, what I want is that Wakda is upset, and when he is messed up, he can make mistakes, and we can take advantage of it. ”

Zhu Dadian stroked his beard, and if he realized, Li Haoxian sighed: "It's okay if the commander doesn't say it, but it's even more confused when he says it." ”

Hou Xuanyan was full of interest, stood up and just wanted to continue the in-depth explanation, when his personal soldier Hu Bawan shouted outside the tent: "Dashuai, someone asks to see." ”

The three people in the tent looked at each other, this is the camp of the Chinese army, not the backyard of the mansion, what does it mean to 'someone ask to see'? Hu Bawan opened the tent door, walked in, hugged his fists and said, "It's from Huai'an City." ”

Hou Xuanyan pondered for a moment and said with a smile: "This must be a few big families in Huai'an, who want to come to worship the mountain." Let them in, I want to see what kind of incense these local tyrants and bad gentry have come to worship me, and their hearts are pious or not. Suddenly, Hou Xuan played a blessing to his heart, and whispered to Qin He, the commander of the guards in the tent, to take the prisoners who were to be released tonight to the back of the big tent to weed, and labor to reform them.

After Hu Bawan went out, he quickly brought two people in, both of whom were dressed as ordinary people, and after entering the tent, there was a plop, and the two of them knelt on the ground: "The grass people have seen the grandfather of the country, and kowtow to you on behalf of our lord." ”

Hou Xuanyan smiled: "Which family are you from?" ”

"Grandpa back to China, the two villains are slaves of the Cheng family."

Zhu Dadian has been in Yangzhou for a long time, and naturally knows a few wealthy businessmen in Huai'an, so he explained to Hou Xuanyan: "It is Cheng Liangjin, the first salt merchant in Huai." ”

Hou Xuanyan nodded, suddenly changed his face, and scolded: "Lao Tzu is the prince of the Ming Dynasty, and you and your master are loyal ministers and good people of the Qing Dynasty, so you will be exempted from kowtowing to me on their behalf." Cheng Liangjin called you here, is he going to help Wakda give me a war letter? My men have been holding back for many days, when will the Tartars go out of the city to fight? ”

These two people are selected by Cheng Liang, and the people under him who can speak well and think carefully will naturally not be frightened by him. After listening to Hou Xuan's speech, one of them hurriedly said: "Grandpa Guo is angry, our lord knows that he has made a big mistake, but it is also a last resort. The Tartars are powerful, and our lord is just an ordinary merchant, and after the city is broken, he is a slave to the country. What we have been waiting for is the Northern Expedition of the King Division, fortunately there is a prince of the Ming Dynasty, we finally waited for the day of the Northern Expedition of the King Division. As long as Grandpa Guo can help us Huai'an people defeat the Tartars, let us see the light of day again, and restore our clothes, we Huai'an people are willing to let Guogong see our hearts. With that, he reached for his sleeve, and although the guards had searched him repeatedly when he entered, he had no sharp weapon on him. But this action still made Hu Bawan and other personal soldiers feel like they were facing a great enemy, and slashed at his hind legs with the back of their knives, making the lobbyists of the Cheng family fall to the ground with a wail.

The lobbyist took out an envelope and said with pain: "This is a welcome gift from my lord to the commander, and I will give it all after the city is broken." ”

Li Haoxian stepped forward in person, took the envelope and turned around to hand it to Hou Xuanyan.

Hou Xuanyan waved his hand and said: "Read it out loud, I'll listen to it, this is Cheng Dayi's filial piety, and it is also a manifestation of his patriotism, let's pay attention together." ”

He was afraid that his voice would not be loud, and the Qing soldiers who were reforming outside would not be able to hear it, so he deliberately let Li Haoxian, who had a loud enough voice, read it.

Li Haoxian couldn't help laughing, tore open the envelope and read: "Grandpa Guo is above, the grass people are on the scale, and the two Huai businessmen and the untouchables have repeatedly bowed to us, and we are in the hands of the enemy, and we can't live in fear, crying blood in our eyes to look forward to the king." Now I heard that the king had crossed the Huaishui, and the army had arrived at the city, and the grass people were all ecstatic. In order to atone for this sin, on the day when the army of the Duke of China entered the city, we are willing to offer five million taels of silver to thank the Duke and his tiger generals for expelling the Tartars for us, so that we can see the light of day again. ”

Zhu Dadian exclaimed: "What a big stroke! ”

The two messengers have important positions, observing words and feelings, and they must bring back Hou Xuanyan's true thoughts and inform Cheng Liangjin that they have completed the task. They raised their eyes and peeked, only to see Hou Xuanyan's face as pale as water, and after a while, he said in a deep voice: "These profiteers are insincere, and they deliberately don't keep the money, for fear that I will hand them over to the Manchurians." It seems that they just want to make an empty promise, if we break the city, he can spend money to buy his life, we can't break Huai'an, they continue to be the obedient people of the dog, it's really a good calculation. Go back and tell your master that if he wants to live, he must find a way to help Lao Tzu break the city. If I conquer Huai'an City, and your master has not made any achievements, the day the city is broken will be the time when his whole family will die. When the time comes, you Cheng Mansion will not even leave a live dog. ”

The two messengers looked at each other with a bitter face, unaware that a group of Qing soldiers outside were listening with their ears pricked up. Hou Xuan's bitter meat trick is a bit excessive, just like a group of actors who took the Romance of the Three Kingdoms as a script, and came to an extremely amateurish scene restoration. So much so that these Qing prisoners knew that they were about to be "escaped". However, the military law of the Qing soldiers was extremely strict, and being a prisoner was a great crime, and he would also be punished after escaping. But if you can make a meritorious deed, you can escape punishment, and maybe there will be a reward. As for whether the news is accurate or not, it doesn't matter to him, when the time comes, the Tartars will cut off the heads of several merchants with a knife, and there is no proof of death. Although these Qing soldiers also sensed that something was wrong, in order to be able to make meritorious contributions and avoid crimes, they had already begun to think about how to add fuel and vinegar to the story after escaping.

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