The Royal Leisure Villa has now become the first choice for the Han magnates to escape the summer, and the ingenious and novel lakeside villas in the villa make the magnates covetous. However, there are more monks and less porridge, and few people dare to buy the lakeside villa, which has faintly become a symbol of the top power.

Liu Tong, the old Zongzheng who has no desire, did not have the slightest scruples, and spent a cost of millions of dollars to buy an extremely luxurious three-story small building from Liu Fei. This year, His Majesty the Emperor has just brought the concubines in the palace to Ganquan Palace to escape the summer, and Liu Tong also led a group of relatives in the palace to the Royal Leisure Villa and proudly stayed in the villa.

Old man Liu Tong just passed his 80th birthday a year ago, and he is already the year of the Cane Dynasty. The Book of Rites? The "Monarchy" has a cloud "eighty rods in the court", that is, eighty years old can enter and exit the court with a cane, which actually means that the Son of Heaven must respect him. Especially in the Han Dynasty, which ruled the world with filial piety, as the emperor's uncle, if the old man of Dexun was in charge, even the emperor's head would be knocked on the crutches in his hand.

Since the old man arrived at the villa, he often found the prime minister Yuan An, who was also in the villa for summer vacation, the imperial historian Liu She and the crown prince Fu Weijuan, to drink tea and drink, and chat. If you change to someone else, you can't get rid of the suspicion of personal friendship and personal friendship. But with the change of the old man, coupled with the respected status of Yuan Ang and others as the elders of the three dynasties, even the foreign relatives led by the Dou family did not dare to criticize at all. And the imperial historians, who are responsible for supervising hundreds of officials, turn a blind eye, otherwise their immediate boss, the imperial historian Liu She, will inevitably have to give them small shoes to wear......

Today, the old man also found Yuan Ang and three people to have a banquet, the only difference is that there is one more person at the banquet - Cao Luan, a big farmer. Yuan Ang and the others saw that Cao Luan was also invited to attend, and although they had some doubts in their hearts, they didn't care too much. They are frank and upright people, they can't say anything to others, and they don't care about multiple acquaintances. Anyway, Cao Luan is also ranked in Jiuqing, although his qualifications are shallow, but his identity is also qualified.

However, Cao Luan seems a little cramped, although he is in charge of the world's money and rent, and his position is high and powerful, but compared with these court elders and leaders, there is still a huge gap. Of course, the excitement in his heart is inevitable, the old man Liu Tong and Yuan Ang are naturally the top elites in the Han Dynasty. Cao Luan was just in his early forties, and he was able to step into this circle, which really made him faint to death with happiness. As long as it spreads out a little, I don't know how many Han magnates will be envious.

Cao Luan received an invitation from Lao Zongzheng last night, and he was so excited that he stayed up all night, so he came to the banquet early. When Yuan Ang and the three came, Lao Zongzheng had already drunk half a pot of tea with Cao Luan. Cao Luan got up and saluted Yuan An, and consciously walked to the left to accompany the last seat. Yuan Ang and the three of them were not polite, and sat down according to the rules.

After the banquet, the old man Liu Tong, who was very interested, frequently raised his glass and drank happily with everyone. Although Cao Luan tried his best to suppress the excitement in his heart, he couldn't escape the fiery eyes of the old foxes. They didn't have the slightest disdain, after all, they themselves did the same all the way back then, and the officialdom culture in China has always been less social, and even less supported by the elderly. Therefore, the old man Liu Tong and Yuan Ang not only did not rely on the old man and betray the old, but made a few jokes with him from time to time, creating a sense of peace.

After three rounds of drinking, Cao Luan gradually adapted to the relaxed and leisurely atmosphere of the banquet, and really began to enjoy the wine and food. The wine at the banquet was all tribute wine given by the emperor to the old man, and the dishes were also concocted by the imperial chef who the old man asked His Majesty the Emperor for, even if the three princes and nine kings could not enjoy it in ordinary times.

When the wine was hot, the chamberlain in the house walked slowly into the hall and came to the old man's side to whisper a few words. The old man stroked his beard and commanded with a smile: "Let people add the table." ”

The waiter was about to bow down and retreat, but the old man seemed to think of something, and hurriedly called the waiter, and the old man's face was full of bad taste and whispered a few words before he asked him to go down and prepare.

After a few moments, a few waiters carefully carried the mats and eating tables, and added two seats on either side of the chairman.

When Yuan Ang saw this, they were all stunned. At the time of the banquet, the arrangement of this seat was very exquisite, and now the guests in the hall are all high-ranking people, even if it is Liu Tong's son-in-law and grandson, they will definitely not dare to sit on the top.

The old man was surprised when he saw the four of them, but he didn't hurry to explain, but just said to their appetite: "There are still two stinky boys coming, you just have to eat and drink first." ”

Yuan Ang and the four of them saw that the old man was reluctant to make it clear, and it was not easy to ask, so they had to secretly speculate with the wine bottle.

After a while, the two young men in green shirts slowly walked into the hall, and the young men led by the young man bowed to the old Zongzheng on the chairman, and said with a smile: "The old man forgives the sin, the lonely king and the imperial brother only care about enjoying the scenery along the way, and they are a little late." ”

The old man had no intention of returning the salute at all, but just sat on the table and joked with a playful face: "It's not too late, it's not too late, there are still leftovers to be cold, and it's enough for you two brothers to eat half full." ”

Yuan Ang and the four of them did not have the old man's calm spirit, but hurriedly got up to avoid the table and bowed to the crown prince Liu Che and the king of Jiangdu, Liu Fei.

Liu Che and the others didn't dare to slack off, and they also respectfully replied one by one, and Liu Che even said repeatedly: "You are all the teachers of the Lone King, don't be polite, and you will be tormented by the Lone King." ”

"Okay, don't be polite, lest you sweep the wine surname!" The old man saw that everyone was courteous and ceremonial, and he couldn't help complaining for a long time, and then pointed to the seat on his side, and said with an interesting smile: "Come to the table quickly." ”

When Liu Che and the others saw the seat at the top, they all smiled wryly, slandering the old man's bad taste. Now Prime Minister Yuan Ang and others are present, and it is really unreasonable to let them sit at the head. It stands to reason that Liu Che is the prince, and his rank is higher than that of the third duke, and he can also sit on the table. It's just that the crown prince and Fu Weiwan are also there, and the dignity of the teacher must be guarded, and it is not easy for him to sit on the top.

Liu Che, as the prince, is not decent, but after a little hesitation, he sat on the right side of the old man as if nothing happened. Jiangdu Wang Liu Fei didn't dare to do this, the surname Suo didn't care about his face, stepped forward and slowly walked to the bottom of Wei Juan, before putting down the food table.

Everyone was stunned, but then they couldn't help but secretly praise Liu Che and Liu Fei's impromptu decision, which was really neat and easy, and easily resolved the embarrassing situation.

The waiter on the side didn't have the thoughts of the bigwigs, but picked up the mat in a little panic, helped Liu Fei spread it behind the dining table, and slightly sorted out the messy tableware on the table. When Liu Fei was seated, the waiter breathed a sigh of relief.

Old man Liu Tong didn't see the expected show, although he was a little disappointed, but he was very satisfied with the reaction of the two grandchildren. He smiled and raised his glass, toasted the crowd frequently, and soon restored the original atmosphere of the banquet. In terms of the ability to reconcile Ding Nai, Liu Tong's surname and ability are in the same vein as Liu Pengzu, the king of Zhao, and he has inherited a lot of Gaozu Liu Bang's communication skills in the society.

The purpose of Liu Che and Liu Fei's trip naturally made Yuan Ang and the four of them a little suspicious, even if they drank happily, their brains were still constantly thinking and calculating. Fortunately, the crown prince Liu Che did not have the bad taste of the old man Liu Tong, but quickly entered the topic directly.

"The lonely king has been ordered to join the central government office for more than a year, and he has heard the discussions of the officials in the department, since the founding of the Han Dynasty, he lives with the people, hides the wealth from the people, and has countless rich businessmen and giants with a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars. Lately, it seems that this is indeed the case. Liu Che put down the wine bottle in his hand, his eyes slowly scanned the people in the hall, and finally stopped on the face of Prime Minister Yuan An, and sighed slightly.

Yuan Ang was stunned when he heard this, pondered for a moment, frowned and said: "What His Royal Highness said is true, my Han uses the technique of Huang Lao, although he focuses on agriculture and suppresses business, but there are still many strong people, who have to take care of the benefits of mountains and seas, mine iron and stone drums, and boil the sea for salt." A family gathers a crowd, or more than a thousand people, and collects all the exiled people. There are also people who are rich enough to rival the country......"

The rest of the people were silent when they saw the extremely sensitive topic, and the old man Liu Tong even waved away the attendants in the hall.

"Rich enough to rival the country?" admired Liu Fei, the king of Jiangdu at the end, and said with a faint smile: "If you are rich, you will be rich, and it is too arrogant to want the enemy country." ”

"Not necessarily! If it is a prince of transportation, clinging to the powerful, or even controlling the rule of a place, it is not a lie to want the enemy country. Liu Che's face sank, and he said coldly: "I think this is the case with the wealthy businessmen and giants in Nanyang County!" ”

Seeing the frowning brows of His Royal Highness the Prince, the imperial historian Liu She's heart couldn't help but tighten. The Imperial History Mansion under his rule supervises the rule of the world, and if the officials of Nanyang County really collude with businessmen and commit fraud, he will not be able to get rid of it. He was anxious, and immediately asked, "I don't know why His Highness said this?" But did the officials of Nanyang do illegal things? ”

Liu Che waved his hand and said: "It is inconvenient for the Lone King to say this matter clearly, and it is necessary for Liu Gong to order someone to investigate it carefully." It's just that Gu Wang admires the salt merchants in Nanyang County very much, and in just a few months, he can come up with hundreds of millions of dollars to buy millions of stone sea salt for hoarding, and even the local mineral salt is no longer sold. The price of salt in several counties around Nanyang has risen instead of falling, which is really a lot of money! ”

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, they were in a high position, and they naturally knew the catty behind the sharp fluctuations in salt prices in Nanyang County. On the surface, it was a contest between the Nanyang salt merchants and the Qidi salt merchants, but in fact, it was a secret battle between the royal business group and the Nanyang merchants actually controlled by the royal family. However, except for Prime Minister Yuan An, the courtiers of the Han Dynasty did not pay too much attention to it, and they did not know that it had involved a huge transaction volume of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The big farmer made Cao Luan's face change greatly, he deeply knew that this kind of dangerous currency trading behavior would definitely have a great impact on the local economy, and he asked with a pale face: "Your Highness forgives the sin, the lower officials want to know, now there are copper coins circulating in the market of Nanyang and the surrounding counties and counties?" ”

Liu Che glanced at Cao Luan deeply, and secretly praised it in his heart. For Cao Luan, who has not studied the economic and monetary theories of later generations, he can grasp the key points in one sentence, and Liu Che has to admire the wisdom of the ancients.

"Cao Tainong doesn't need to panic, even if the Nanyang salt merchants have spent hundreds of millions of copper coins and gold, Nanyang and the surrounding counties still have enough copper coins circulating in the market, which is also what the Lone King admires and puzzles the most!"

Liu Che didn't embarrass Cao Luan, but nodded slowly, and then moved his gaze to Prime Minister Yuan An's face, hoping that he could give a reasonable explanation. The Han Dynasty was not an industrial society in later generations, and hundreds of millions of copper coins were extremely terrifying quantities, not only for the required metal, but also for casting. The wealthy businessmen and tycoons in Nanyang County hid such a huge cash flow, which Liu Che did not expect. (To be continued.) )