After the brief glory of the Ban Chao generation, Ban Chao's son Ban Yong lost the favor of the Han family because of his guilt, and the power of the Ban clan collapsed instantly.

In recent years, due to the weakening of the imperial court's control over the Western Regions and the frequent wars in Liangzhou, the road to business in the Western Regions has become more and more difficult. Last month, during a big transaction, the bandits lost a lot of money, not only were people killed and injured, but most of the goods transported from the Western Regions were also robbed.

Only more than 1,000 catties of Uzi steel were hidden in advance during the shift to avoid being robbed. The class is a very business-minded person, and when he saw the frequent wars in the Han Dynasty, he thought of importing Uzi steel, which can make treasure knives.

It's just that the remaining Uzi steel is still insignificant compared to the loss of this big deal. This loss can be said to be worse for the Fufeng Ban family, who was already in decline, and when they were at a loss, the class saw Liu Wei's investment conference, and immediately felt that this was a good opportunity to revive the family.

However, the expectation of the class is not to fantasize about getting rid of the status of a merchant and entering the scholarly class, as Mi Zhu Weiz did. At this time, after the instant collapse of Ban Chao and Ban Yong, the Fufeng Ban clan no longer had any ideas about the imperial court, and they still focused more on commercial trade.

The Silk Road is the top priority of all commercial trade of Fufeng Banshi, and the blockage of the Silk Road is a great blow to Fufeng Banshi, so the purpose of this investment conference is to cooperate with Liu Wei and ensure the smooth flow of the Silk Road with the help of the imperial court.

Although Liu Wei didn't know what Ban Ji had in mind, he had a slight understanding of his identity, so he asked tentatively: "Who are you?" ”

In fact, the class had been expecting Liu to ask this question for a long time, and hurriedly replied: "Ban Zhongsheng (Ban Chaozi) is the ancestor of the grass people. ”

Liu Wei nodded with a sudden understanding, and only Ban Chao's descendants can still move freely in the chaotic Western Regions countries when the Han Dynasty loses control of the Western Regions.

After quelling the Xiliang rebellion and the naturalization of the Qiang people, Liu Wei did not think about restarting the Silk Road. It's just that he has just succeeded to the throne, the government is not stable, the world is not peaceful, and the court has lost contact with the countries of the Western Regions for a long time, and he does not understand the current situation in the Western Regions, so in this situation that it is not suitable to restart the Silk Road, Liu Wei was worried about how to import Uzi steel just now.

However, the current class has been doing business in the Western Regions for many years, and he is the descendant of Ban Chao, if he imports Uzi steel for the imperial court, it is also a feasible way.

Liu Wei already had a plan in his heart, but he didn't say much. Because he has been out for a long time, there is still a group of other merchants he invited in the Qilin Hall waiting for him, the master, to return.

There is no return for a long time in the banquet, and there is a loss of hospitality. Liu Wei had no choice but to say to the class first: "After the banquet is over for a while, you will leave me to discuss with you." ”

Hearing that Liu Wei was going to leave him alone, the class was overjoyed. Although the Son of Heaven did not express his intention to cooperate with him to restart the Silk Road, the schedule felt that there was a lot of hope in it.

The two of them returned to the Qilin Hall with their front and back feet, and everyone in the hall was not suspicious, and they were still staggered, and it was very lively. Seeing Liu Wei returning, he immediately rushed forward again to flatter Liu Bian.

Only Mi Zhu saw that Liu Wei and the two of them went out at the same time for so long, and returned together with the front and back feet, and he was suspicious in his heart, which showed that the two looked as usual, and it was not easy to ask each other, so he had to bury his doubts in his heart.

The banquet continued, although there was something in his heart, Liu Wei did not end the banquet hastily, and continued to talk and drink with everyone in the palace. It was not until the guests and hosts were happy that Liu Wei ended the banquet and ordered people to prepare carriages and send the merchants who had drunk high enough to return to their residences.

Everyone said goodbye to the Son of Heaven and walked out of the Qilin Palace. After returning from the shift, he never drank alcohol again, and was ready to keep a clear head and wait for Liu Wei's questioning. At this time, following everyone out of the hall, a yellow door quietly walked to his side and whispered to him: "Ban Zhuangshi, please come with the villain, Your Majesty will summon you from the hall." ”

"There is labor."

The class nodded slightly at the yellow door and thanked him, and followed him to the side hall.

Mi Zhu, who was walking in front, saw that the class period followed a yellow door and returned, and his heart moved, and he looked at the back of the class and thought for a long time.

The class followed the Yellow Gate to the side hall and found that the Son of Heaven was already waiting there. He simply changed into a white casual dress and sat behind a long table, his expression was not angry or happy, holding a cup of steaming ginseng soup in his hand.

When the class entered the hall to give a salute, Liu Wei raised his hand, pointed to a back chair on his right hand and said, "The strong man of the class does not need to be polite, please sit." ”

The shift was a little cramped and sat on the chair, he didn't feel it when there were many people just now, but at this time, he felt quite nervous after facing the Son of Heaven alone. Especially this time it is related to the fate of the Fufeng Ban family, and the heart of the class is even more worried.

The class has traveled from south to north, and it can be regarded as experiencing a lot of people, if it was a teenager of Liu Wei's age, he would not care. However, the young man in front of him is young and old, and his eyes are deep, which makes the class unconsciously have a sense of awe.

Liu Wei saw the tension of the shift, and ordered Huangmen to also bring a cup of ginseng soup to the class, and Wen Yan comforted him: "Don't be cramped, drink the ginseng soup first to relieve the hangover." ”

Drink ginseng soup according to the words of the class. Liu Wei continued: "I left you alone to summon you to inquire about the situation in the countries of the Western Regions. ”

The class has been in business in the Western Regions for many years, and naturally knows the situation of the countries in the Western Regions well, and when he heard Liu Bian's question, he told the situation of the countries in the Western Regions that he knew.

In a narrow sense, the so-called Western Regions refers to the area west of Yumen Pass and east of the Green Mountains, including 36 countries such as Loulan and Qiuci. These are all countries controlled by the Han Dynasty in the traditional sense.

In a broad sense, the Western Regions refers to all the countries west of the Han Dynasty. Dawan, Kangju, Kushan, Anxi, and even the Roman Empire, known as the Great Qin in this era, can be regarded as the Western Regions.

The class often walks on the Silk Road, and naturally understands the situation of the Western Regions countries in the narrow sense such as Loulan and Qiuzi. In the past, the Western Regions region has always been a battlefield where the Xiongnu and the Han wrestle with each other, and the two sides took turns to dominate and control the power of the Western Regions. Basically, whoever is strong has the right to speak in the Western Regions.

Now because the Xiongnu have become the losers of the Han-Hungarian battle, they have fallen into division. The Southern Xiongnu went south to return to Han, and the Northern Xiongnu were forced to move westward. In recent years, the Han Dynasty has lost control of the countries in the Western Regions due to civil strife. Therefore, at this time, the princes of the Western Regions were numerous, wars were frequent, and they were constantly annexed with each other, which gradually formed the five major kingdoms of Loulan, Cheshi, Khotan, Shule, and Qiuci. Most of the remaining small countries are dependent on these five countries.

After listening to the lecture of the class, Liu Wei nodded thoughtfully and asked again; "How is Kushan and Rest doing?"

The shift was embarrassed, and to be honest, he didn't often go to the countries west of the Green Ridge. Normally, the merchants of the Han Dynasty would simply sell their goods to the countries east of the Green Mountains and then turn back. Although they also knew that the goods were sold at one price in the countries of the Western Regions, if they went out of the Green Mountains, it might be another price, and the farther they went, the higher the price might be. But they also have to consider the risk of transportation. After all, the countries of the Western Regions were not under the control of the Han Dynasty at this time, even if these merchants could not meet bandits, it was difficult to guarantee that there would be no one among the kings of the Western Regions who would be hot and slaughter them, the merchants who transported goods through the state and province, as fat sheep.

It is only the class period that relies on the prestige established by the ancestor Ban Chao in the Western Regions, and dares to go out of the west of the Green Ridge and sell goods to Wusun, Kangju, Dawan and other countries. Even so, they still encountered bandits during the class - the countries of the Western Regions can give Ban Chao face, but these robbers don't give face to anyone.

He had been to Guishan two or three times, but he had only been there once recently. Although I have heard a lot of anecdotes about the customs of these two countries, I don't dare to talk nonsense, and I picked up a few words that I felt more affirmative in my heart, and Liu argued: "Your Majesty, the ministers of Guishan and Anxi haven't been there a few times, so they don't dare to tell me indiscriminately, I only heard that Guishan has a population of one million, and the rich buildings and sand grass people in the capital have been there, although it is not as prosperous as Luoyang, but it is also one of the best cities." The merchants of Guishan like to sell the goods of my Han to rest or Daqin. It is also rich in gemstones, spices, and a kind of flower, which is milky white at first, and then turns crimson, which produces a fluffy fruit that fills clothes and keeps warm. ”

Liu Wei immediately thought of what it was.

"Cotton?"

The shift was stunned, he had never heard such words. looked at Liu Wei in confusion. Liu Wei didn't explain, but held back the excitement in his heart and continued to urge: "Go on." ”

The class continued: "The Kushan and the upper and lower levels believe in Buddhism, but there are also some common people who believe in a kind of divine religion called Brahman. Its king, named Phongsudeva, also succeeded to the throne earlier this year. Although the grass people have never met him, they have heard that he is also young and ambitious. As for the rest, the grass people really don't know much, they only know that it is the only way to Daqin, and trade is prosperous, but they are at odds with Daqin and Guishan, and there are often wars. ”

Liu Wei nodded appreciatively, it was already very good to be able to say so much, even the king of Kushan and the Brahmans knew about it.

"Do you know the situation of Daqin?" Liu Wei asked again.

The class was really stumped this time, and I lowered my head and thought about it for a long time before I said unconfidently: "The grass people heard that Daqin is aggressive by nature, and often gathers in the circular square to kill people. ”

Liu Wei smiled slightly, thinking that the class should be talking about the gladiatorial arena in Rome. Although the Han Dynasty and Rome are known as the two heroes of this era, there is no direct interaction between the two sides because of the journey. Not to mention Rome, even the Parthian Empire, which is known as the rest of the Han people of this era, is rarely known.

Liu Wei, who came to this era, naturally wanted to change this situation, and in his ideal great achievements, it was not just as simple as unifying the whole country.

However, Liu Wei also understood that everything should not be rushed, and before the reunification of the whole country, the power of the imperial court could not return to the Western Regions. Only by restarting the trade of the Silk Road first, the Western Regions should first focus on exploration and investigation.

Thinking of this, Liu asked the class period: "Are you willing to do something for me?" ”

"The grass people are willing to serve His Majesty." The class immediately swore a solemn statement.

Liu Wei smiled and said, "I don't need you to do anything else, but to buy refined iron for me to go to Guishan, and to see if there are any good things in other Western Regions countries, and bring them to me together." As for what I need you to see and buy, I will make a list for you. At the same time, you can also bring a batch of goods from the workshop under my name to sell, if this trip can be successful, I will not treat you badly, and you and I will split the account by then. As for the right to sell porcelain in Liangzhou, it can also be given to you. ”

The conditions offered by Liu Wei are indeed preferential enough, and he can get three layers of profits just by leading the way, how can he not be tempted by the shift. Moreover, what Liu Wei said was actually what the class had been thinking about, that he had a way to go in the Western Regions and was familiar with the environment, but he was suffering from insufficient strength and could not gain a foothold in the chaotic situation in the Western Regions. With Liu Wei's cooperation, it is equivalent to having the support of the entire imperial court, and the class will inevitably be able to revive the family on the lucrative Silk Road.

"The whole world is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is not the king's minister. Your Majesty instructed the grass people to do things, and the grass people did it with all their hearts, how dare they share the profits with Your Majesty. It's just that the situation in the Western Regions is chaotic now, there are many bandits on the road, and the grass people are weak, so I am afraid that I will lose His Majesty's trust. Although I was happy in my heart, I still had to be deferential in the class, and by the way, I raised the difficulties.

Liu Wei waved his hand and said, "I am not the kind of person who is solid and fishes, killing chickens and eggs, let you do things, and will naturally give you enough benefits." As for your question, given the current situation in the Western Regions, I will not send an army to escort you so conspicuously, but I will still send a team of guards and civilians to accompany you to protect your safety. ”

The personal guards of the Son of Heaven naturally have extraordinary skills, and the shift is reassuring. In fact, he didn't know that Liu Wei sent him to the Western Regions with not only some personal guards, but members of the Espionage Department of the Coordination Agency, in addition to protecting the safety of this caravan, he also had the task of spying on the situation of the countries in the Western Regions.

There was the intervention of the imperial court forces to ensure the safety of this trade route. Although the class also understands that the person who leads the way will gradually become familiar with Liu Bian's people after one or two times, I am afraid that he will be useless to Liu Bian at that time.

However, to the surprise of the shift, Liu Wei's plan was longer than he thought. I only heard Liu Wei continue to say to him: "If you can successfully come back this time, I will cooperate with you to set up a transportation company that will be responsible for transporting goods to the Western Regions for others. ”

Transport company? The class period was a little incomprehensible to the word.

"That is, other merchants have goods to sell to the Western Regions, and you can be responsible for escorting, which charges commissions or commissions. It can also be called a dart game. Liu Wei patiently explained.

He was still confused about what the dart game schedule was, but he understood the general meaning of Liu Wei's description. It sounds like a no-brainer deal, but it's perfect for someone like him who has a lot of money but is short on money. Not to mention doing business in partnership with today's Son of Heaven.

All this will have to wait for him to successfully return from the Western Regions this time. However, in order to motivate him, Liu Wei thought of the name of their so-called transportation company in advance:

Amex.

*******************

Mi Fang has always been very strange, and the eldest brother Mi Zhu came back from the palace in a daze, uneasy. This is very different from the appearance of the eldest brother who usually keeps his sanity all the time.

Could it be that something is wrong in the palace?

At first, he didn't dare to ask much outside, and picked up the eldest brother and little sister into the carriage waiting outside the palace, and only after returning to the Zhichen Pavilion where he was staying did he ask Mi Zhu: "Big brother, can it be smooth to enter the palace to meet the Son of Heaven?" ”

Mi Zhu smiled bitterly after hearing this. If it doesn't go well, he just won the right to sell porcelain in Sizhou, and the profit is already huge, and he has established a good relationship with the Son of Heaven. All this did not go against his original intention, but after he came to Chang'an, he operated in many ways, the purpose was to dominate and make the Son of Heaven look at him differently, but he didn't expect that in the end, Wei Kai stole all the limelight, and even the Fufeng class that he had been paying attention to was finally left by the Son of Heaven to ask him alone. Although I don't know what the Son of Heaven will say when he looks for a shift, it is extremely likely that the Western Regions trade route will be restarted.

At this time, Mi Zhu realized from Liu Wei's series of words and deeds that this young emperor recruited these businessmen, probably not just to raise funds in a short time. There may be a bigger reform brewing in his heart, which makes Mi Zhu, who originally had the idea of abandoning business and joining the government, begin to think about whether his original goal was correct.

Mi Fang saw that the eldest brother was still silent, so she turned to ask the third sister Mi Zhen, who entered the palace with Mi Zhu: "Zhen'er, you can see the Son of Heaven when you enter the palace with the eldest brother?" ”

Who knew that Mi Zhen also looked stunned, and only replied to Mi Fang after half a sound: "I saw it." ”

Mi Fang saw that they all wanted to lose their souls, and they were about to go crazy, and shouted anxiously: "You look like this, is it because there is something wrong with entering the palace?" ”

Mi Zhu shook his head and said: "Without this, don't worry about it, Brother Wei is just thinking about something about what direction our family should develop in the future?" ”

Mi Fang was stunned for a moment and said, "Doesn't the eldest brother want to enter the imperial court and rank as the third duke?" ”

Mi Zhu shook his head and said, "What about the three princes and three masters?" Isn't it still necessary to obey the order of the Son of Heaven? ”

The three princes and three divisions of the extremely human ministers are all dissatisfied, and the above ones are ...... Mi Zhu was suddenly frightened and his back tingled. I wondered if the eldest brother Mi Zhu saw the magnificence in the palace, and suddenly had a strange thought, otherwise why couldn't he even look down on the third prince he had always dreamed of, could it be that he still wanted to be the emperor.

Mi Fang thinks that she has no potential for rebellion, and feels that even her eldest brother Mi Zhu, who has extraordinary knowledge and is far more intelligent than herself, may not have this ability.

Fortunately, Mi Zhu continued: "The power of the Son of Heaven is supreme. If the Son of Heaven is close, the peddler pawn can also rise to prominence, and if the Son of Heaven is disgusted, the third prince will also fall down. ”

Mi Zhu said very clearly, the emperor is in charge of life and death, as long as he hugs the emperor's thick thighs, even if he is not ranked as the third prince, he can be rich and glorious.

Although Mi Fang understood Mi Zhu's meaning, she didn't understand the deep meaning. However, the eldest brother had no intention of rebelling, so he was relieved.

It wasn't until soon after, after the family of the fourth and third princes in Luoyang, the capital who was in power for a while, collapsed, that he admired the foresight of his eldest brother. However, at that time, he still did not understand the words of his eldest brother, and it was not until later that the tragedy happened to him that he regretted it too late.

I heard Mi Fang's question about Mi Zhen just now, Mi Zhu put his attention on Mi Zhen again, after all, he who came to Chang'an with Mi Zhen also had the intention of taking the road of success of the general He Jin, but Mi Zhu has always loved this sister very much, and also hoped that she could be happy, so he took the opportunity of Liu Wei to set up a banquet to entertain them businessmen, and brought Mi Zhen into the palace and let her see if she liked to be today's son.

"The third sister has already met the Son of Heaven, what do you think?" Mi Zhu asked with a smile.

Thinking of the scene of meeting Liu Wei, Mi Zhen was shy, and said hatefully: "He is also a light prodigal!" ”

Mi Zhu was stunned.

"No, I think today's young man is old and steady, not like the person you said?"

Mi Fang also quipped on the side: "Although I haven't seen the Son of Heaven, I can also hear that today's son has white skin and red lips, and he has the appearance of Song Yu." is matching with the third sister, where did the third sister see that the character of the Son of Heaven is prodigal? ”

Mi Zhen couldn't answer, her face turned even crimson, and finally she stomped her feet and shouted, "You are all the same bullies!" ”

After saying that, he ran away without looking back.

To be continued, stay tuned for the next chapter.