Out of the gate of the palace, the dry and hard cold wind in the north of the country blew in the face. This article is from a piece of paper that makes people feel cold, and I can't help but tighten the long shirt on my body.

Before you know it, the whole night passes. At this time, it was ten o'clock in the morning, and the sun had not yet risen. A touch of fish belly white appeared in the eastern sky, and the light blue sky, the morning star hung high, twinkling.

The early morning in Baoding Mansion is not as quiet as in Jiangning. In the dry cold wind, with the pride and ** belonging to the northerners.

On both sides of the street, those wine shops and restaurants also opened their doors, and the shopkeeper in thick cotton clothes opened the door and patted the dust on it. Then straightened his waist, opened his throat, and shouted at the pedestrians on the street: "Open the museum!" ”

When the voice fell, the shivering pedestrians laughed and followed the shopkeeper into the tavern.

Northerners are so refreshing, they like to drink, and their big grinning voice has the strong aroma and hotness of burning knives. The words spoken are like a fire, warming people's bodies and minds.

Those obscenities that are regarded as obscenities in the eyes of literati and ink writers are coarse and blue. In the wind and sand of the north, it is particularly cordial.

In the tavern, the aroma of wine is overflowing, ** extreme. Outside, the wind was bitterly cold.

The two of them ate some food in the tavern, filled their stomachs, and walked out.

Walking down the streets, especially past the doors of the brothels that look rustic. It is often seen that the old men are kicked and kicked out of the gentle township by the hot women, and they look disheveled, and some even have bare buttocks, and they scream.

"The people of the north are fierce, but they are also extremely bold!" Seeing Agui walking on the road like a goose, he was stunned when he heard those foul language jokes. Lu Heng smiled. Explained for him: "There are foul words, but there is also true temperament! ”

"Uh-huh." Ah Gui nodded while looking at the door of the brothel, the magnificent scene of the husband and wife fighting, hehe smirked. Follow Childe and walk along the road where the cold wind hits.

The two first walked aimlessly on the street, and when they passed by a leather goods store, Agui also bought some bright leather goods, saying that when they went back, they would give them to Du Siniang and his sister.

I couldn't help but be overjoyed when I saw Aguina. Lu Heng thought about it, and still paid for it. The north is rich in leather goods, as long as you are willing to spend money, you can buy anything.

The two bought some wool carpets made in Turkic. There are also many fox fur queens. He handed it over to the soldiers who accompanied him and let him take it back to the house.

After the soldier left, Lu Heng took Agui into the restaurant across the street.

I saw the shop. The voices of the people are loud and noisy.

Diners are holding large bowls, and the wine is splashing and the aroma of wine is overflowing. The shopkeeper carried the dishes, walked through the middle of the tables, and sang loudly.

"What do you want to eat?"

The shopkeeper's attitude is very enthusiastic. Follow all the way, and ask with a smile.

Lu Heng glanced around. Seeing that the living room was overcrowded, he frowned and said, "Is there a private room?" ”

"I'm really sorry, it's the Chung Yeung Festival soon. Therefore, there are many merchants who come and go. The private room has already been fully booked, and you see, guest officer, why don't you share a table with someone here? The shopkeeper looked apologetic and bowed to apologize.

It can be seen from the clothes of these two guests that these two people are either rich or expensive. The big man, with cold eyes, walks calmly, and has good martial arts. Look at this young scholar again, his temperament is extraordinary. must have the background of princes and ministers, and the average rich son definitely does not have this temperament.

has already trained a pair of shopkeepers with good eyes, and his attitude is naturally respectful. After speaking, he frowned when he saw this good-looking son. He thought about it in his heart and arched his hand: "That villain will help you ask the shopkeeper!" ”

Lu Heng nodded slightly, and thanked him: "Thank you, little second brother!" As he spoke, he took out a tael of silver ingots from his arms and handed them to the shopkeeper.

"What do you say?" Xiao Er was flattered and hurriedly thanked him. He glanced down at the silver in his hand, and saw that the silver was extremely pure and shining. I was amazed, this is the best silver.

I took a closer look at the young scholar and saw that he had an extraordinary temperament, and he smiled without anger and majesty. The shopkeeper's eyes suddenly lit up, and he arched his hand and said: "Guest officer, please wait, I'll go and report to my shopkeeper!" ”

Not long after the shopkeeper left, he walked out again.

Behind him, followed by an old man in a gray robe,

The old man, after seeing the scholar standing at the door, was startled, rubbed his eyes, and found that the person was right, his eyes suddenly lit up. hurriedly stepped forward, looking a little overwhelmed.

Lu ...... Adults, villains ......! The old man was horrified, and at this time, he did not know how to salute. Don't call it extremely much for a while. Two years ago, the meeting in Ouyang Mansion is still vivid. At that time, the scholar's calm smile made the old man feel that this person was definitely not a thing in the pool. Now, after two years. He is already the emperor of the dynasty and the minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

It's really impermanent.

"Uncle Wen, it's okay to call me Yongzheng!" Seeing the old man's panicked appearance, Lu Heng smiled slightly, stepped forward, and said to him with a smile.

This person is the former housekeeper of the Ouyang family in Jiangning, called Da Vinci, and now he is the person in charge of the Ouyang family's business in Hebei.

I haven't seen him for two years, and Uncle Wen is a lot older. The original chubby body has also lost a lot of weight, and the wrinkles on his face seem to be drawn by the wind and sand in the north, old and dry.

It seems that the situation of the Ouyang family in the past two years has not been very good!

"Don't dare, villain don't dare!" Seeing that the scholar was as kind as ever, Da Vinci did not dare to call him by his name. After all, the other party is now an important minister of the imperial court, and he can only look up. Hold authority in your hands. The status is extraordinary, compared with others, the identity of the shopkeeper of this province is simply the difference between cloud and mud. Swallowing his saliva, Da Vinci smiled and said, "Uncle Wen really can't afford to be a villain, just call me Da Vinci!" ”

Lu Heng smiled and no longer forced him. Raising his head and glancing at the second floor, he asked with a smile, "Is the Ouyang family master inside?" ”

Seeing Lu Heng glancing at the second floor with a smile, Da Vinci was shocked.

He was afraid that Lu Heng would be angry because he mistakenly thought that the head of the Ouyang family was setting up a score, so he hurriedly explained: "The head of the family, your body is inconvenient!" Therefore, the villain came down to greet the adults for the head of the house! ”

raised his head, secretly glanced at Lu Heng's expression, and found that the scholar showed no signs of life, and the smile on his face was still kind. Da Vinci breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. After taking a step to the flanks and getting out of the way, Da Vinci respectfully said to Lu Heng: "My lord, please!" ”

"Please!"

Lu Heng nodded and walked towards the stairs on the second floor.

Beside him, Da Vinci followed step by step, and introduced to Lu Heng the affairs of the Ouyang family in Shanxi in the past two years.

In the past two years, King Jin has increased a lot of taxes in Shanxi, which has led to complaints from major merchants. The merchants petitioned several times, but to no avail, they thought of going to Beijing to sue the emperor! As a result, due to the revelation of the matter. Known to the King of Jin. When he said this, Da Vinci's face was full of helpless and bitter smiles, and after sighing, he said with a wry smile: "His Royal Highness the King of Jin sent troops to arrest many merchants and framed them for resentment. Oh, our Ouyang family is also among them! ”

"And then?" Lu Heng frowned, thought for a moment, and asked.

Later, the king of Jin released a rumor that he could atone for his sins with money. It's just that this amount is really big! Da Vinci sighed, and said in a low voice: "However, the matter is related to the lives of the owners of the major merchants, so we were forced to pay for the ransom." ”

"Later, my lord, you sent Brother Agui to Shanxi, and we learned that the King of Jin was originally going to rebel, and the ransom was the military salary he used to rebel! Unfortunately, it was too late! ”

"Then, have you calculated, how much money did King Jin get this time?" After thinking about it, Lu Heng stared at Da Vinci and asked.

"At least 10 million taels of silver!" Da Vinci took a deep breath, and Lu Heng, whose eyes were full of melancholy, said in a deep voice.

Hiss, ten million taels?

There are 10 million taels?

After hearing this number, Lu Heng couldn't help but gasp.

As far as he knew, the income of the state treasury in the first year of the year was only about one million taels. The king of Jin blackmailed together, and he actually came with 10 million taels of silver.

Moreover, if Lu Heng expected it to be true. The king of Jin will inevitably coerce these merchants on the charge of financing the rebels, and tie these trembling merchants to their chariots. Manpower and material resources, support yourself. If this continues, this battle will be difficult to fight.

Not to mention the financial and material resources of major merchants, it is said that the soft power of major merchants is very amazing.

The major merchants have a wide range of business and have a lot of eyeliner in Shanxi, even if they sneak into the mountains, it is inevitable to leak the news. If this happens, the consequences are unimaginable.

Just thinking about it, the group had unconsciously walked to a door.

Da Vinci stepped forward and pushed the door open, and respectfully said to the head of the Ouyang family inside: "Master, Lord Lu has come to see you!" ”

Lu Heng, who was standing at the door, couldn't help but feel sour in his eyes when he saw the head of the Ouyang family lying on the bed by the window in the room, and his heart was awe-inspiring.

The head of the Ouyang family, who was full of gray hair and described as extremely thin, was wearing a purple silk robe and sitting in a wheelchair made of wood.

Outside the window, the breeze is blowing.

The robes of the head of the Ouyang family were slightly shaken by the wind, and under the robes, there were one or two empty trouser legs.

At this time, the head of the Ouyang family, who was described as thin, was looking at Lu Heng excitedly at this time.

"Villain, Ouyang Ke has seen Master Taifu!" The head of the Ouyang family struggled, wanting to get out of the wheelchair and salute Lu Heng. It's just that he was helpless and inconvenient, and he was old and frail, and he almost fell to the ground.

Seeing this, Lu Heng hurriedly stepped forward, hugged him, and said eagerly: "Ouyang family master must be polite!" ”

glanced at the head of the Ouyang family, who was heroic back then, but now ended up like this, he couldn't help but blame himself in his heart, took a deep breath, and sighed: "Lu is sorry for you!" ”