The middle-aged businessman is quite knowledgeable, the customs of the north and the south, and the folk customs of various places, can be said to be the first thing, that is, the habits of the Huns and Xianbei people, and they can also be portrayed in a word. And he talks extraordinarily and speaks unhurriedly, which makes Yuan Xi also have a good impression of him.

In fact, in the late Warring States period, there were many big businessmen, such as Zhao Guozhuo's family, Qin State's widow Qing, Chu State Yidun, etc., all of whom were heavyweight wealthy businessmen in the world, rich enough to rival the country, and even able to influence the political situation. However, after the Qin State unified the world, it proposed to take agriculture as the foundation. In the Han Dynasty, agriculture was even more important and commerce was suppressed. In fact, it is also true, businessmen are profit-oriented, there is no very effective supervision system, and taxes are difficult to calculate, so it is easy for the original farmers to be opportunistic. After the troubled times in the world, it needs to recuperate, and if the people who farm go to business, there will not be enough food, and the imperial court is naturally unwilling to have this kind of thing happen. As a result, the status of the merchant plummeted, and the people all spat on it, like rats crossing the street.

However, Yuan Xi, as a descendant, naturally broke this prejudice. First, you can correctly understand the role of businessmen, and gentlemen love money in a good way; Second, if you want to develop the economy rapidly in Youzhou, you can't do it without businessmen. So the more the two chatted, the more speculative they became, and gradually it was dark and unconscious.

In the blink of an eye, I was near Wenjiabao. The Wen family is one of the top families in Youzhou, and several generations of their genealogy have been officials in Youzhou, and there are many talents. It's just that he didn't go from a magistrate to the center of the court, so he is not as well-known as the Cui family. Wenjia Fort was built dozens of miles south of Ji County, which was originally called Wenjia Village, and was quite close to Ji County.

Wenjiabao covers an area of nearly 100 acres, like a small city. The outer city wall is poured with a mixture of mud and stone, which is quite solid, and when you look at the outline from the outside, it looks very majestic under the sunset, and the two watchtowers at the door can monitor the surrounding area of several hundred meters, and once there are bandits approaching, they can sound the alarm in time, so that the nearby people can quickly retreat into the fort.

The Wen family is a well-known good man in the vicinity, because the Wen family is famous, so many people come to take refuge, so they also built thatched houses around the Wen family, and live together. Because it was located on the main road between the north and the south, the Wen family also built many houses for travelers to stay overnight, which also won them a good reputation.

At this time, there were not many people coming and going on the road, so Yuan Xi and others also borrowed a lot of empty rooms to settle everyone. Several people got some food from Wenjiabao and had a full meal. Yuan Xi and the merchant team sat around and talked about Wenjiabao.

"I heard that some big families bully widows and orphans in the township, but what the Wen family does is not the same as those wealthy families who are rich and unkind."

The middle-aged businessman, who claimed to be surnamed Lin, heard Yuan Xi say this, and said: "Actually, the Wen family has done all these things well, but thinking that they want to repair such a large fort, the cost is huge, so they have to dig into the income of their money." ”

Yuan Xi was a little strange and asked, "What does Mr. Lin mean?" ”

"Mr. doesn't dare to be, he is just a businessman, and he doesn't dare to speculate on what the Wen family did. We're eating his family's food now, and it's not good to say bad things behind our backs. But ......" the merchant surnamed Lin lowered his voice and said, "I heard that they forcibly annexed the fields of the nearby people, and absorbed the people who originally owned the land to become their tenants, so they quickly accumulated wealth." The people planted the land, and the harvest was handed over to the treasury for eleven years, but in their hands, the sixteenth harvest was handed over to the Wen family, and the rest even had food and clothing as a problem, and in turn the Wen family had to help. In the end, he had to attach himself to the Wen family. ”

Yuan Xi said: "Oh? And what else is there? Why were these people willing to give their land to the Wen family? ”

"Forced labor is levied on the basis of the head of the field, but the Wen family and Gongsun Zhan's people have a private relationship and can be exempted from hard labor...... I'm also hearsay, and I don't know if it's true or not. ”

When the businessman surnamed Lin spoke, he stared at Yuan Xi's eyes tightly, but Yuan Xi just blinked his eyes and said, "The gossip is not to be believed, the Wen family maintains the township and still contributes to the security of the neighborhood." ”

"That's, that's ......" The merchant surnamed Lin had to nod.

Speaking of which, the last time Yuan Shang secretly contacted Liu Yu's old department, he wanted to raise troops in Youzhou to block Gongsun Zhan's way to escape north. At that time, several major clans in Youzhou rose up one after another, and the Wen family was also one of them. Therefore, they also have credit for Yuan Shao's final victory over Gongsun Zhan, as the history of Youzhou Assassin, before coming, Yuan Xi also received special advice from Yuan Shao's side to treat these meritorious people well.

The next morning, the weather was still very good. Yuan Xi ran around Wenjiabao and admired the walled city building with great interest. A ditch was dug around Wenjiabao, and although there was no water infusion, it was easy to dig through the river. The main entrance of Wenjiabao is the widest, allowing four horses to enter and exit at the same time, but it is necessary to lower the drawbridge to pass. There are also arrow towers on the high ground around, and the walls are very smooth and without force, as long as the archers are arranged, they can inflict great damage on the enemy troops who attack the fort without permission.

Yuan Xi was very curious, so he found the gatekeeper of Wenjiabao and asked if he could enter the fort for a visit.

The person guarding the door was actually just a guard recruited by the Wen family, and he hesitated for a long time for Yuan Xi's request, and finally said: "A few of our young sons happened to be out of the fort, if you want to go in, you have to get their consent." ”

Among the descendants of the Wen family, there are exactly five men, called the five young men of the Wen family, who have a great say in the Wen family, and gradually provoke the burden of the Wen family. Some daily affairs, as long as you find the five young members of the Wen family, can basically be solved. Therefore, this gatekeeper recommended Wushao to Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi heard that the five young masters had gone out, and asked for a clear direction, so he asked Zhao Yun and the others to follow and head south together. The merchant surnamed Lin rested in his residence.

About two kilometers to the south, I crossed a hillside and came to a grassy land. Because this place is on the southern slope and is in a depression, there is plenty of sunlight on weekdays, so green grass grows first.

I saw a few young people running happily on this grass, it should be the legendary five young masters of the Wen family, and their entourage.

Yuan Xi saw that they were chasing around a round object, and then would kick the round ball with their feet, and couldn't help but feel happy in his heart, isn't this football. At this time, there was no football, so it should be called Kemari. Keju existed during the Warring States Period, and was once used by the Wei ** team as a military training soldier physical fitness. People have a very limited control over their feet, and kicking a ball with their feet is a challenge to their limited touch, so they are naturally interested in kicking a ball with their feet.

But Yuan Xi saw that these young people lifted the hem of their clothes and chased around a ball, and there was no discipline, so he thought about it and shouted: "Everyone, stop, I have a better way to kick the ball and bow." ”

Someone in the crowd stopped and looked at him, and one of the young men asked, "What better way is there for Brother Tai?" ”