Liang Tingdong was annoyed, a four-wheeled carriage out of Xinping Fort, not far from Yanghe, galloped in the direction of naturalization surrounded by cavalry, this team of people and horses is strange, without any flag, no one would have thought that the four general soldiers of Xuanda were in the car - Xinping Fort is stationed in the Ming Army, there are also Fengzhou Merchant Army and Datong People's Army, General Sun Siwang is the leader of the Fengzhou Merchant Army Fang Zhikun's sworn brother, even the official position is Fengzhou to help him buy, with the dual background of the Datong Army and the Fengzhou Army, and is loyal and reliable, This has become one of the secret meeting places for the military leaders of the four towns.

The roads connecting the two important fortresses on the side wall of Naturalization have been repaired, the carriage has traveled smoothly, and the leaders of the four armies have not been idle, spreading out the map to discuss the military situation—the situation in Gyeonggi is in a mess, and they also seem worried.

"It's good that Sihaiye can hold that broken place, Tianshou Mountain is in the east, it's obviously the territory of Changping Town, why rely on our Xuanfu Town? No, I can't admit it. Yang Guozhu, the chief soldier of Xuanfu, finally found Sihai Yebao on the map, and complained angrily.

"Chao Pichang of Changping Town went to the Dongyu, Wenchen died again, the emperor's ancestral tomb was invaded, you have to find someone to vent, the governor will definitely be unlucky, even if you don't call your name, forget it, let's think about how we can get through this level," Wang Pu, the general soldier of Datong, shook his head and sighed, turned his face and said to Li Yu, "Hanmin, you are the best at fighting Dongyu, you have never suffered a loss, this battle can only rely on the naturalized army, you still go to Gyeonggi with us." ”

"I am a person who borrows money to live, I can't do anything without anyone giving money, and if the court doesn't send the silver to naturalization, I will never send troops!" Li Yu shook his head vigorously.

There was silence in the carriage for a while, and after a long while, Yang Guozhu said: "It's still Han Min who has a temper, we don't have the courage, it's okay if you don't go, you can't bear a lot of debts for the court, or talk about how to fight this battle, we listen to you." ”

"The commander of the Qing army, Azig, is brave and good at fighting, and the deputy commander Abatai is scheming, this time the Dow surprise attack on Changping must be Abatai's strategy, the two of them will not have any flaws, I'm afraid they can't find a loophole," Li Yu scratched his head and thought for a while, feeling a little depressed, and said with a long sigh, "We have to rely on strength to fight, the disparity between the enemy's combat strength is too large, the more people who go up, the more chaotic it is, it is best for the Qinwang army from all walks of life to hug together, dig deep trenches in peacetime, set up guns, and never go out to fight in the camp. Even if the Qing army is successful, remember, Wenchen told you not to go to the camp and rob the village, the Qing army is a veteran of sneak attacks, your strength is not good, you can only play to death if you play tricks, drag it slowly, wait for Lu Xiangsheng's army to arrive, maybe there is a chance of a small victory, don't think about defeating the Qing army. ”

"Then let's try to protect ourselves, drag it until the Qing army is out of the customs, Han Min, I have worked in the Guanning army, and I have also entered the customs to suppress thieves, I know the situation better than you, Lu Xiangsheng is known as a soldier, but he has never worked in the border town, he doesn't know anything about Donglu, he relied on Zu Dale, Zu Kuan, Li Chongzhen's Guanning cavalry, these guys are also considered fierce generals under Zu Dashou, but if they fight with Donglu, I estimate that they will escape faster than anyone else, and I always feel that Donglu does not go out of the pass, Lu Xiangsheng's soldiers and horses may not be able to catch up, forget it, whether it is dead or alive, accept fate." Yang Guozhu said with a depressed expression.

"The younger brother is too poor to help the three elder brothers, but I can draw some gunpowder and guns from the army to give you so that I can cheer you on." Li Yu lowered his head sadly.

"No, this is a war in the imperial court, why should you pay out of your own pocket, my brothers thank you, but you must not ask for anything." Wang Pu and others rejected in unison.

Li Yu thought for a while, patted his thigh and said: "It's important to save your life these days, if you can't fight, you can run, if you can't run, just surrender, the Manchurians are still very friendly, Abbatebelle over there has an old friend with me, you should be able to live if you report my name, and when the time comes, the younger brother will also redeem you by smashing the pot and selling iron." ”

"This is my own brother!" Wang Pu hugged Li Yu excitedly, and Yang Guozhu also gave Li Yu a thumbs up with mixed feelings.

"I'm quitting, I spent 6,000 taels of silver to buy a general soldier, and the debt hasn't been paid off, why should I die?" Wang Zhong, the chief soldier of Shanxi, who had been silent, spoke, patted Li Yu's arm and said, "Han Min, your brother Hu Dawei has always wanted to be the chief soldier, okay, I'll give him the position, this time I will take a sick leave and not go to Gyeonggi, go to you to hide for a few days first, do you think it's okay?" ”

"Why not, you can come if you can't stay in the pass, no one dares to come to Fengzhou to find your trouble, and your livelihood is no problem, my little brother can afford to support you." Li Yu patted his chest and replied.

"Good brother, just have your words, don't worry about us, we have saved silver in the Fengzhou silver banknote store opened by your wife, which is enough for us to use in this life." Wang Pu said immediately.

The low-key club of the head of the Fourth Army of Xuanda was open until the end of naturalization, and Wang Pu and the others were radiant and rushed directly to the naturalized bond exchange, and they actually came to this -- the naturalized bond exchange opened on 10 July, and in late June, domestic businessmen continued to enter Fengzhou, and everyone must say that they bought and sold bonds, and the three general soldiers immediately realized that they had the opportunity to make a fortune, and took advantage of the opportunity to meet Li Yu to go to naturalization to see for themselves.

The bond exchange has been open for three or four days, the lively atmosphere has not diminished at all, it is no exaggeration to describe it as a market, there are constantly people who look like businessmen going in and out, the gongs and drums outside the compound are beating and beating, and two stages have been temporarily set up to sing Shanxi Bangzi and Qin dialect, and the walls and trees are also full of slogans such as "buying bond bills is to love Fengzhou", "buying bond bills to make money, benefiting the country and benefiting the family", "buying and selling, Tong Suo is not deceiving" and other slogans, the common people crowded at the door to listen to the explanation of the people in the debt bills, some people can't resist curiosity, I took the silver money and tried it, and as soon as I came out, everyone surrounded me and asked what was going on.

The spacious courtyard was bustling with people, and directly opposite the door was a large tiled house, and the lintels of the main entrance and the side doors on both sides were marked with the words "cash", "buy", and "sell", and the people who bought and sold the bonds lined up from the house to the center of the courtyard. There are more than a dozen wings on both sides of the courtyard, which are full of rich businessmen with heads and faces, and these guys also put up sparrow cards, playing cards and gambling money while giving orders to the family mates. Li Yu saw his housekeeper Wang Er shouting hoarsely and shouting "buy" at a glance - Wulan and Wu Langha also speculated on debt bills, it is said that they are still generous, using tens of thousands of taels of silver bills, these two girls are really rich, Li Yu feels shocked when he thinks about it, but he never asks about his wife's business, and his wife only asks about his government affairs, Li Yu thinks this is also very good.

The businessmen have obviously been planning for a long time, making the momentum big enough, and pulling a large number of accomplices from the customs to help in the war, and the popularity will naturally be prosperous when the business is popular, no wonder the interest they want is not high, but they insist on deferring the payment, three months is enough to toss a few times, these businessmen are really good - Li Yu shook his head slightly and entered the courtyard, and the people in the courtyard immediately shouted, but he was obviously absent-minded, pretending to cheer at the same time, his ears were still standing up to listen to the quotation of the guy from the debt bill office, and his eyes also peeked at the quotation card from time to time, Li Yu waved his hand to the crowd, Walked straight to the backyard, this place was no stranger to him, he had been here since the day it opened.

The hall in the backyard was full of people, not only Sun Tingyao, Shen Shoulian, Fan Yongdou, Yang Tingfang and a group of chamber of commerce bigwigs, but also Zhou Yi, a businessman in Guanli, Xu Hengchen, a businessman in Shandong, and Jia Jingzong, a businessman in Huguang, also came here. Wu Langha, president of the Chamber of Commerce, sat on the right seat and pointed at the businessmen, talking and laughing, and behind him stood several of her henchmen - Ma Guangyuan's wife Ma sister-in-law, Zhou Yuji's wife Liu Naren, Mao Yuanyi's concubine Yang Wan, Hadari's wife Wu Ya, Chahar Khan's widow Su Tai, another new face is the sixth concubine of Datong General Wang Pu, who was nicknamed "Wang Xiaoliu", this woman was born in Datong Qinglou, eight-faced, shrewd and capable, Wang Pu has some things that are not easy to come forward, and sent her to do some business between the Wang family and Fengzhou, Therefore, he often goes in and out of Fengzhou, and he has successfully blended into Wu Langha's circle.

"Great Commander, it's a good thing, 600,000 taels of new and old bonds plus 100,000 taels of various factories, mines and workshops, a total of 700,000 taels of bonds, more than ninety percent of them were sold in just three days, and more than 4,000 taels of red deed tax were collected, and we have money." Fan Yongdou excitedly reported the good news when he saw Li Yu, Li Yu nodded and glanced around, Wu Langha hurriedly gave up the main seat to the man, and quietly hid to the side, and several leaders of the Chamber of Commerce sat down around Li Yu to talk about things.

Wang Pu called Wang Xiaoliu aside, carefully asked about his own income, and after a while, he scolded angrily - Wang Xiaoliu, a loser, is too picky, she only likes to hold money at home, but she is reluctant to borrow money from outside, and she didn't buy a silver bill for more than three days, wasting the opportunity to make money. Wang Pu was angry, and called the director of the exchange, asking him to recommend a few money-making bonds, Yang Guozhu and Wang Zhong hurriedly came over to listen.

Huang of the exchange is a native of Yangzhou, in his early forties, shrewd and capable, used to work in Nanzhili as a money village, pawnshop, is a good hand in doing business, in recent years there has been a shortage of money in Jiangnan, he is bold and Taixi people, Japanese people partner to resell silver, copper money, robbed the money business of Nanjing Baoquan Bureau, was wanted by the government to go to the sea to catch papers, desperate, Shen Tingyang is just looking for a talent who is good at doing money business, so he recommended him to Fengzhou. The people in the Chamber of Commerce didn't care about his case record, and immediately reused him and appointed him as the head of the bond exchange.

"Lord Zongbing, it's a little difficult to choose a good vote now, although the old and new bonds issued by the Prime Minister's Office have low interest, but there is no risk and they are still doing good things for Fengzhou, they have already been snapped up by everyone, the price has been speculated, and then you can't buy it, and the villain can only recommend a few private bonds for you." Director Huang scratched his head and chattered about the fact that there are actually good ones in private bonds, such as the land development of Datong people in Hetao and Baoketu, which is obviously imitation of naturalization and farming and real estate; The Manhan Mountain Ammunition Factory was run by a group of people from the Ordnance Division's Gun Factory, with the highest level of craftsmen, and was developing flowering shells; The four-wheeled carriage built by the Baoketu Wood Factory is in short supply, and there are still patents of the Industrial Construction Division in their hands. But there are also some tickets that have been left out in the cold, such as the Ordos rodent extermination workshop, the Baoketu mud workshop, although the annual interest rate is given to three or four percent, but because there is no guarantee can not be sold, in fact, these two are big business, there are many kinds of rats outside the customs, and the food eaten is countless, and the rodent must make money, and the mud is not simple, before building a house and laying bricks with lime, clay and glutinous rice pulp, there are a few craftsmen who burn lime, clay, iron slag to make mud, and also obtain a patent from the Industrial Construction Division, they are now short of money, you adults can go and see, If it is suitable, simply buy shares, rich people, just do something different.

"Did you hear it, Wang Xiaoliu, find those craftsmen for me, I don't have much money and I will buy shares immediately, Lao Tzu has money, I don't care about gambling." Wang Puyi hurriedly called out the nickname of the concubine, Yang Guozhu and Wang Zhong exchanged a look, and the two quietly went out to discuss.

Li Yu chatted with the leaders of the Chamber of Commerce for a while, and called Wang Pu and others to prepare to leave, but Wang Pu, Yang Guozhu, and Wang Zhong were reluctant to leave, and they had to rely on the exchange for two days, leaving Li Yu busy with his own affairs and leaving them alone.

Li Yu yawned all the way back to the Great Commander's Mansion, and as soon as he sat down in the study, Li Huai came to the door.

"Hermes-Epitek, the gang of people in the Chamber of Commerce are crazy, they brought three or four hundred merchants from the Guannei, and they speculated the debt bills to a thrilling extent, and the whole naturalization was in chaos, I always feel a little scared in my heart, should I take care of it."

"Don't meddle in what we don't understand, the bond exchange is opened by themselves, I don't blush when I make money, and don't blame me if I lose money, don't worry, they are smarter than anyone else, and naturalization can't be messed up."

"No, I still have to take care of it, and tomorrow I will let people post a notice that 'the bond market is risky, and you need to be cautious when entering the market'."

Li Yu smiled and said: "The autumn harvest is about to start, this is the big deal, let the businessmen worry about the affairs of the Chamber of Commerce, Zhou Yi and Xu Hengchen are all naturalized, take advantage of this time to settle the matter of Fengzhou's inheritance, and it can't be delayed any longer, second brother, we are brothers, you won't blame me for giving up authority, right?" ”

"The second brother is not so greedy for power, our Li family is from a low background, we should be content to have today's achievements, San'er, I know that you are scared by the strife in Jin, in fact, I am also afraid, our Li family does not want power, as long as the children are safe and sound."

Next year is the general election year of the House of Representatives, the Liberal Party councillors who do business in Kannai have all arrived at naturalization, reunited with their comrades, and are gearing up to do a big job, the Civic Party is too poor to afford the road expenses, so naturally it will not run around, and it has long been full of members to challenge the Liberal Party, and the two sisters Wulan and Wu Langha are also secretly competitive, and the two parties continue to hold party member meetings during this time.

In the newly built Liberal Party headquarters next to the Black Eagle Trading Company, the party leader Wu Langha bitterly criticized the party members in the customs only know how to make a fortune and have been absent from the council meetings for a long time, resulting in the Liberal Party suffering a lot of losses from the Civic Party because of its weakness, especially the head of the Mingguo branch, Zhou Su, who has not worked effectively, has only developed six or seven hundred party members so far, not even a fraction of the party members in the Guannai, and the party building in Fengzhou, which is mainly led by Shen Shoulian, the party premier, is even worse, and the citizens of Fengzhou think that the Liberal Party is a party of rich people, and the Liberal Party is getting farther and farther away, and now the situation is very grim. Next year's general election is likely to not even retain the current number of councillor seats.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Toyosu House was created by the Liberal Party, and if the general election is lost and swept away by the Civic Party, what will be the face of our party? There's still a year to go, and you have to figure out how to turn things around, or it's too late. Wu Langha said bitterly.

Zhou Yi admitted that he was not effective in his work, but emphasized objective reasons, the people in the Guannai were dead-headed, and they adhered to the ancient precept of "gentlemen are not parties", and disdained to be with them, and the White Lotus Sect was lurking in the north with great power, so it changed its doctrine casually and turned into a civic party. Shen Shoulian also complained that Wang Fang and Bi Lige had been camping in Fengzhou for a long time, and the local people in their hometown were extremely well-connected, and they had the old roots of the Farmers and Animal Husbandry Association and the White Lotus Sect, and they had all kinds of codes, cuts, and heads, and there were many more poor people than rich people in this world, and the Civic Party was born with an advantage over us.

"According to what you say, we should lose to the Civic Party, this kind of unproductive words can be said, I don't believe in this evil, the rich are not as good as the poor, Fan Erxi, tell them your experience." Wu Langha was on fire, pointing at Fan Erxi, the head of the Qingguo branch, and shouted.

"There's nothing to say, it's just which mountain to worship which Buddha, choose the target and work hard, don't believe that he won't be fooled, oh, don't join the party." Fan Erxi's cowhide coaxing blew away, he developed more than 200 party members in the Qing country, first of all, relying on the support of the Qing magnates to smuggle the smuggling merchants in the pass, by the way they were pulled into the party, and then the Qing magnates were co-opted and corrupted, and shouted a loud slogan "The rich people in the whole world unite", the Manchurian people love face to catch up with the fashion, repeatedly flickered a few times, and they are embarrassed to go out to greet people if they don't join the Liberal Party, and he also organizes life in the casino once a month, and the Manchurian magnates and Han businessmen get together to drink tea and eat and play sparrow cards, The atmosphere was very lively, and under the strong request of Prince Yu Duoduo and others, it was now changed to an organizational life every ten days.

"I understand no, the rich people all over the world are united, what a loud slogan, Fan Erxi's brain is the soul, and on the way back to Fengzhou, he also developed the Qing trade ambassador into a party member, he is your role model. The autumn harvest will start soon, this is a good opportunity to win people's hearts, think about what to do for yourself, don't blame me for not reminding you if you lose, the Grand Commander doesn't have so many designated places in his hands. Wu Langha pointed at the party members and said sharply.

"Hatun, my slogan can't be forced, in Fengzhou, I have to change the word, such as 'the Liberal Party leads everyone to a well-off' or something, anyway, it can deceive people." Fan Erxi shouted loudly again.

"Fan Erxi is a good comrade!" Wu Langha said heartily approving.