PS: Chapter 2, ask for recommendation votes!

Taoqiu was originally a sleepless city, because of the prosperity of extravagant industries such as horse racing, motor racing, keju, and women's lu, the western part of the city was full of lights and wine all night, and at the same time devoured countless money, silk and jade, it also created countless wealth for the city.

As soon as the nightlife of the nobles and light knights was over and the sun was shining in the east, the market of Taoqiu opened again. From the morning market to the evening market, goods from all over the world are traded here, and nearly 10,000 merchants and craftsmen rely on it for their livelihood.

The only city that never sleeps in Kyushu in the fifth century B.C. was bustling all day long, but now, it has fallen silent because of a government decree.

This is a dark night without a moon, and you can't see your fingers, and a group of Cao soldiers patrolling Lilu have just left, and a small wooden door has opened in a remote alley, and a man in soap clothes with a bun and no crown leans against the door and looks out.

The middle-aged man in soapy clothes is named Tao An, the word Zisi, is the Cao State businessman who did business with Duanmu Ci in the early years, and after the business failed, he came to Taoyi to be a city official, and was later persuaded by Zigong to follow him to do things for Zhao Wuxian, and operate a luxurious business.

But this hard work is now all fed to the dogs, and anyone will be depressed.

He waited anxiously at the door for a while, and then he heard a short but powerful cicada chirp at the intersection, and the man breathed a sigh of relief, and with a slight flick of the lantern, someone came over there.

It was a gentleman dressed in white and a graceful manner, and a light man who was short and not like a northerner, walking briskly and looking at his surroundings vigilantly.

Tao Ang stepped forward and arched his hand: "Zigong." You're finally back......"

Duanmu Ci also saluted and said: "Zisi has been wronged these days. ”

"No grievances, no grievances. is just depressed in his heart, this Cao Jun does not do good business. But he got into trouble with Gongsun Jiang, who only had good work on his lips......"

After Tao Ang said halfway, he stared at the short light man and asked, "This strong man looked at the face and didn't know ......."

Zigong introduced: "It's my own person, the hero Shi Jun from the Chu State. ”

Tao Ang is very good at things, and immediately arched his hand and said: "Admire, Shi Jun can accompany Zigong to go deep into the tiger's den, it is really courageous." ”

"Tiger's den? Far from it. Shi Qi shook his head and said in a stiff Central Plains Yayin: "You and the others have arranged it very properly, and the merchants from the surrounding five yi have entered the city. The light chivalrous and evil boys in the city are willing to serve, and even the soldiers who patrol have taken advantage of it, turning a blind eye to our swaggering through the city, and it is actually very easy to come here from outside the city. ”

Tao Ang smiled: "I don't dare to take credit, this is still Tao Zhu's legacy......"

Shi Qi looked at Zigong squarely, and his name was "Tao Zhu", which is said to have been taken by the Zhao generals. He secretly thought that this son looked like a polite Confucian businessman. is not conspicuous, and the clothes are not luxurious, who would have expected that there is still this layer of identity and appeal, and can see this. This trip to Taoqiu was not in vain.

Zigong just smiled lightly, and regarded himself as the master here: "Two, this is not the place to talk. Let's go in first. ”

When Zigong and Shi Qi entered the mansion, they found that it was full of thick hands and feet. There are dozens of tall soap-clothed people. was talking about something in a low voice, but when he saw Zigong and the others coming in, he was immediately nervous, and he got up and surrounded them with a hula, and also drew out a knife and halberd for self-defense.

Zigong was accustomed to danger, and he didn't blink his eyes, but Shi Qi stood silently in front of him, revealing the short sword at his waist, and the murderous aura coming out of his body made people dare not rush forward, this guy is an outlaw.

Tao Ang hurriedly asked everyone to calm down, and then introduced: "Zigong, this is the Keju team in the place of luxury, Gongsun Jiang Dasuo is the whole city, all the men of the right age want to go to the battlefield for military service, and they are also among them, and those who are unwilling to join the army will come to join me...... Why are you still standing? This is Tao Zhujun that I talked to you about on weekdays, why don't you hurry up and see you? ”

"Tao Zhujun!" When those who bowed heard this name, it was as if they had been blown up by thunder, and they immediately bowed their heads.

This mysterious businessman, known as "Tao Zhu", is not only the owner of General Lu Guozhao, but also the person who is said to have created an extravagant business, and is their current food and clothing parents!

"It was my incompetence that caused Taoqiu to make such a big mistake and make the second and third sons suffer."

Zigong asked everyone to hurry up, and after he and Shi Qi changed their clothes, Tao Ang told them about the "perverse behavior" of Cao Boyang and Gongsun Jiang in the past few days.

……

"Gongsun Jiang was originally just a small hunter, and he won Cao Jun's favor with his archery skills and let him participate in government affairs. This person doesn't understand the way of businessmen, doesn't understand the market, and doesn't understand what Cao Guo relies on to be so rich, but he knows very well what Cao Jun likes. The first thing he did after taking office as Sicheng was to double the taxes on merchants and all walks of life, and double the extravagance industry, relying on this method of killing chickens and eggs to enrich Cao Jun's treasury. ”

Then, Gongsun Jiang, who was rewarded by Cao Jun, went one step further and increased the annual service time of the people from one month to two months. He also forced the clans and big merchants in the city to lend money and grain to Si Chengxia, and he used these wealth to build five acropolises around Taoqiu in one go. ”

Tao Ang said, while Zigong drank the syrup water and nodded slowly. These things all happened last year, when the Zhao family fought to the death with Fan, Bank of China, and Handan, he was also running around among the various forces, and he didn't have time to care about Cao Jun and Gongsun Jiang, but now it seems that he is still careless.

"If that's all there is to it, then we can just forbear, and where is the merchant not exploited by the meat-eaters in the nations, who come and go as soon as they are called? But this time they went even further, and without asking the opinions of the countrymen, they directly ordered to declare war on Song. It's a joke, although I don't understand this kind of thing, but I know that the cost of internal and external expenses, the use of soldiers, the material of glue paint, and the service of car armor all cost money. The last loan Gongsun Jiang has not repaid, so he once again forced our businessmen to contribute, which is called Ge Spear Money, and the income accumulated in the past year. All of them were snatched away by him in the name of the government! ”

"Soldiers are also needed to fight a war, and soldiers naturally have to be recruited from the country. Cao people have been engaged in goods and colonization all year round, and they have long been out of holding spears. Now they have been stripped from their respective industries by Gongsun Jiang. The peasants outside the city smoked one ding from two households, so that the farming work was deserted, and ten rooms and nine were empty. Merchants in the city joined the army, the market withered, hundreds of workers joined the army, and the workshop was closed. Even the extravagant place was not let go, the wrestlers who were horned were arrested to be the flag bearers, and the members of the Keju team had to go to the front row to hold spears, which used to be famous Cao Guo. The driving experts who have made countless people crazy have to give up their business of earning thousands of dollars a day and put on armor to board the chariot......"

Speaking of righteous indignation, Tao Ang slapped the table and said indignantly: "Who doesn't know that fighting is to kill people, so no one wants to be a soldier, they are all forced!" And the enemies are still the Zhao family and the Song Kingdom, and anyone with a discerning eye can see that Cao Bo is crazy. He and Gongsun Jiang don't want to live, and Taoqiu's Shinong industry and commerce still want to live! ”

Listening to this, Zigong's brows obviously showed a trace of anger, but his face became more and more calm. He was ashamed of himself. The change of Cao Guo has a lot to do with himself. To say that it is small is a dereliction of duty, and to say that it is big is to turn a blind eye to the crisis and need to be held accountable for this matter.

"Zisi." He asked, "The anger of the people of Cao State against Cao Jun and Gongsun Jiang. To what extent, or rather. To what extent can they go in order to put an end to this ****? ”

"It's like how much Xia Min hates Xia Ji. It is the degree to which the people of Zong Zhou hated King Zhou Li and Rong Yigong, and the degree to which time was exhausted and you were both dead! ”

Tao Ang was very angry, you know, he still remembered that he was a Cao person a few years ago, and questioned whether Zigong had bad intentions in arranging extravagant business for Zhao Wuxian in Cao State, and whether he wanted Cao Guo to indulge in luxury and pleasure and lose his combat effectiveness.

Now this situation has accumulated and it is difficult to return, after a few years of loose and fun in the Cao people, they are very dissatisfied with Gongsun Jiang's suddenly tightened militaristic policy, whoever takes away their good life, who forces them to go to the battlefield, is forcing them to die!

Can't you do business well? What a battle! That's what most people think.

Even Tao Ang unconsciously changed his attitude, the monarch did not sympathize with the suffering of the people, and only knew how to condone Gongsun Jiang Hulai, so his anger towards the Cao government was better than his loyalty to Cao.

"At least, that's what the Keju people who are being searched everywhere outside, the merchants who have lost their jobs, and the hundreds of laborers who work all day long without rest. Some people have already planned that it is better to flee north into Onozawa with them than to be martyred for Cao Jun. Even if they have been conscripted into the army, they are complaining in their hearts and unwilling to serve, and many people are still discussing that they still have to resist the Song people, but if they meet Zhao Bing, they will have to defect! ”

Zhao's retired veterans are important consumers of Taoqiu, and they can be said to have committed no crimes in the autumn after repeated crossings, which makes Cao Ren very favorable. The information was almost collected, Zigong smiled slightly, and had a plan in his heart.

"Zisi, I won't tell you, the reaction of both sides of Zhao and Song is very fast, and they have already attacked Cao Guo in the north and south, this time Cao Guo's pick node is very critical, with the temperament of the lord, I am afraid that he does not intend to let Cao Jun go, but the siege will inevitably cause great damage on both sides. Therefore, I plan to overthrow the rule of Cao Bo and Gongsun Jiang before the army attacks Taoqiu, and let the Cao people regain peace with the least bloodshed and cost. ”

Tao Ang was stunned when he heard this, and then he was overjoyed: "That's right, I and the people outside the door are willing to help Zigong, and the people who have suffered **** in the past two years are also willing to follow!" ”

"There are tens of thousands of people in Taoqiu, which is the basis for overturning the ****, but if there is no one to take the lead, most of them will silently endure the past. Therefore, we need not only manpower, but also money and people who can play a role in appeal. ”

Zigong said: "Although there is no Grand Duke in Cao State, Gongsun Jiang has risen to Dasi City as a mere hunter, and there must be many nobles who are dissatisfied. These people used to haunt the places of luxury, and they made bets from me, and they had many friendships with me. I will write a letter, and you will send someone to contact some of the more reliable ones, test their opinions, and allow them to be lured by benefits...... "For those who are easy to take refuge in powerful forces, I should persuade them to do so in the name of Duanmuci, a pedestrian of the Zhao family."

"In the few years I have been in Taoqiu, I have squeezed out the Qi merchant Zheng Shang, who is the enemy of the Zhao family, and now there are still thirteen big businessmen left in Taoqiu, with a family fortune of 100 gold, all of whom have more than 100 servants. They have business dealings with the Zhao family, and if Cao Zhao turns his face, his interests will be hit hard. So this time, they are our allies, go and gather them to meet tomorrow night in the east of the city to discuss the plan! ”

For these merchants, who had difficulty trusting the nobles, Zigong needed to act in the name of Tao Zhu. This Zhao Wuxian was full of evil taste and his name, but he was very credible in the industry and commerce, and his reputation was at least stronger than that of the Cao government, and Zigong believed that these shrewd partners could clearly judge which side was the winner.

Constantly giving orders, Zigong seemed to have regained the passion to fight Qi Zheng Shangjia in this city, and after Tao Ang promised to go down to make arrangements, he found that his voice was a little hoarse, and after drinking his saliva, he found that Shi Qi was staring at him fixedly.

"What do you think I do?"

Shi Qi bowed his head: "Zigong is like a great general commanding a battle, I have always been not easy to convince people, but this time I admire you very much." ”

Zigong smiled: "I'm just a little annoyed, just like Mr. Ji Ran, angry at the faint monarch and mediocre ministers for not being democratic, I want to teach them a lesson, in the final analysis, I am just a low-born Wei Shang, and it is inevitable that I will be sad for Taoqiu Rabbit." In fact, after staying in this city for a few years, Zigong is not only sad that the rabbit died and the fox is sad, except for the already unfamiliar hometown of Weiguo, and the country of Lu, where the master has left, Taoqiu is more like his new home.

Therefore, if he wants Tao Qiu to avoid the disaster of blood and light before being besieged by the Zhao and Song troops, he can only restore the order here single-handedly.

"Cao Boyang still regarded me as a self-made businessman who came from the Song Kingdom a few years ago, and rejected me. He thought that he was still a high-ranking and invincible monarch, but in my heart, Cao Bo really cut himself off from goodwill and from his countrymen......"

Zigong seemed to be indifferent, but his heart was already turbulent, he put his hands behind his back, looking at the night outside, there was no wind in the four fields, this was the calm before the storm, right?

By his Duanmuci, by him "Tao Zhu", single-handedly set off a big riot! (To be continued.) )