While instructing Long Yu, Yang Zhi also solemnly warned Liu Er and Erma that they must adapt to the military environment as soon as possible and be familiar with military discipline and regulations.

The speed of the first phase of the battle to destroy Chu was obviously beyond the expectations of the emperor and Yang Zhi. It also put forward higher requirements for the logistical support and takeover of the capitals and counties of Southern Chu in the future. It is absolutely necessary to take the opportunity of the peace talks to consolidate the results of the war and make preparations calmly.

Daxia attaches great importance to military merits, and serving as a general and colonel in the army is very different from serving in the Yamen, the governor of customs. There is no doubt about Liu Er's loyalty and gratitude to Yang Zhi, and they know that the interval between the armistice between the two countries is the best opportunity to learn.

No matter what aspect you consider, Long Yu is indeed not suitable to serve as a lieutenant of the Chinese military academy anymore. Yang Zhi's meeting with Qin Changfeng directly prompted him to quickly make the decision to transfer Long Yu away. This means that the next stage of the war will inevitably involve the vital interests of both families. The person responsible for liaison must not only be bold and experienced, but also be familiar with the situation of the two companies.

According to the personal expertise and wishes of the three people who were transferred, Yang Zhi was assigned to the ministry. put Liu Er under Chen Zhun and started as a lieutenant in his garrison corps. Ma Yun was ordered to replace Long Yu as the lieutenant of the Central Military Academy, and Ma Yang was ordered to serve as the commander of the guards with the rank of pro-military captain.

The three of them have only been in office for a few days, and there are people from Xinyang's hometown again, but this time it is Chang San who has returned.

When the family moved back to Xinyang, Chang San and Zhu Ling'er re-screened and shuffled the servants, maids, and guards of the Hou Mansion, and then cooperated with the sixty guards brought by Linglong, and the safety factor of the Yang Mansion increased greatly. Compared with Chang'an, Chang San is much easier.

After chatting and greetings, Chang San took out a letter and presented it: "Master Hou." Half a month ago, the Qin clan sent people from Southern Chu to deliver gifts full of twelve carts. On the face. Fine porcelain, fine tea, silk and satin, precious medicinal herbs, children's utensils, etc., are all there, but in fact there are hidden mysteries. The county lord talked secretly with the visitor for half a day. Later, he repaired a letter and ordered me to send it to Master Hou to enlighten himself. ”

Yang Zhi hinted that Qin Changfeng and Qin Ruju would ask Tan Chongyuan for a bribe when he went back to restore his life, which obviously cashed in. In front of everyone's eyes, sending it to the army is tantamount to asking for trouble, and it is naturally the safest to send it to home under the banner of the Qin family.

The stakes are very high, how can Yang Zhi be able to see those miscellaneous bits and pieces? The so-called hidden mystery is nothing more than real money. When I met Qin Kongyun in Jinling and traveled together. The Qin clan has long had a precedent of having a mezzanine in a cart.

But the emperor was stirred up like this in the middle, and it is still unknown whether the two countries will negotiate peace, and is the Southern Chu side also a little too anxious? The relationship between Yang Zhi and the Qin family is well known, and it is understandable to send some gifts as a cover on the grounds of moving to his hometown. But if the peace agreement fails, won't Nan Chu spend a lot of money in vain?

This matter is very secret, and it is reasonable for Linglong to order Chang San to come to deliver the letter.

However, Zhanxin took a look. Things are far from being as simple as imagined: "The husband and the gentleman met with words: Among the many things sent by the Qin family from Southern Chu, there were 70,000 taels of gold hidden. Among them, there are only 10,000 taels in Southern Chu, and the rest belong to the Qin family. The visitor claimed that another batch was waiting to be transferred, and he would choose the opportunity to negotiate with his husband at the right time. The concubine did not dare to be specialized. It is to inform you in the book of repair. ”

"Zhan'er is extremely strong, Ling'er intends to let him worship Brother Chang as his father-in-law, and hopes that Fujun will be the master and agree. The family is safe for all ages. Don't read it. ”

After reading the letter, Yang Zhi couldn't help frowning and pondering.

Although the silver ticket of this era is very useful. However, the banker issuing the ticket will hoard a considerable amount of gold as a guarantee of payment. Once the amount of tickets issued is too large, it falls into a run crisis. Or because of the war between the two countries, the money bank was destroyed in the war, and the silver ticket will become a piece of waste paper. At the end of the day, gold is the real hard currency.

In troubled times, the price of gold and silver is relatively high. 70,000 taels of gold is not a small amount, equivalent to nearly 6 million taels of silver, but there is actually "another batch waiting to be transferred"! Obviously, Qin Changfeng had been prepared for a long time, intending to hollow out the wealth accumulated by the Qin clan in Southern Chu in one fell swoop. It is not easy to hoard so much gold, and it is even more difficult to smuggle it out of Chu smoothly without everyone's eyes and ears. Could it be that the top and bottom of the Southern Chu court are blind? How did Qin Changfeng do it?

It can be inferred from the time that not long after the news of the emperor's edict ordering Yang Zhi to act as the sole agent of peace matters, the Qin family set off to Xinyang on the orders of Tan Chongyuan. Now that the gold has arrived, Qin Ruju will come again, and the Chu envoy should also come.

Yang Zhi pondered for a long time, and after ordering Chang San to burn the letter, he said in a deliberative tone: "Brother Chang, you have been following me for many years, and you have been silently conscientious, and I never dare to forget. Now that you can withdraw from the house, I also need a right-hand man like you by my side, so you can stay and listen for the time being, how about it? ”

"I have put Liu Er in the army as a lieutenant, and the two young men who brought you in are also newly transferred from the customs. In the future, there will be a battle with Nan Chu, and I will definitely seek a background for Brother Chang, and promise you a good future as a wife and son! ”

Chang San thanked him calmly: "Master Hou has been sent, so don't obey your fate." But everyone has their own aspirations, so if I have the heart to plan for a future, why wait until today? From rushing back to Beijing with Hou Ye to rescue the driver, to your appointment as the governor of customs, and then to your passing through Yizhou, until now you are in charge of hundreds of thousands of troops, where can I not go? And when can't you go? ”

"I was originally in the rivers and lakes, and I made killing people as a career, and I was fortunate enough to follow characters like Hou Ye, and I was already very satisfied, and it was in vain! Master Hou allows me to say something arrogant, for so many years, especially after having a few young masters, I have long regarded the Hou Mansion as my home, and your family as my relatives. Every day, as long as I can hear the old man's shouting and shouting, and see the crying and laughing of several young masters, I feel very down-to-earth and happy in my heart! ”

Yang Zhi said with emotion: "Since this is the case, I will not allow you to serve in the army, just stay as a personal entourage." ”

"You also know that I won't be in the army for long, so come back with me. In the future, the life at home will be relatively stable. There are two things, I hope Brother Chang will not shirk: one is that you are middle-aged, and it is time for you to start a family, and I will let Linglong make arrangements for you when the time comes. The second is that you and Ling'er are like brothers and sisters, Linglong mentioned in the letter. Ling'er has the heart to let Zhan'er worship you as his father-in-law. ”

The reason why Chang San has not started a family so far is similar to Zhu Ling'er's delay in giving birth. Yang Zhi has always felt deeply guilty about him. Chang San didn't care much about starting a family, but Yang Zhi personally promised to let his youngest son Yang Zhan worship him as his father-in-law. It made him overjoyed: "Thank you Lord Hou for your kindness!" ”

Two days after receiving Linglong's letter, Qin Ruju really came again.

Last time, I was entrusted by Tan Chongyuan to convey the message that Nanchu intended to strike the war and ask for peace, and this time it was undoubtedly to pave the way for formal peace talks between the two countries and make preliminary preparations.

Qin Ruju won the absolute trust of Qin Changfeng and even the Qin family, and when the two met again, Yang Zhi ordered Ma Yang to lead him directly to Xingyuan's study to take a seat.

Yang Zhi was not at all interested in the so-called peace talks, and the first thing he said was: "Like a torch, what's the matter with the 70,000 taels of gold?" ”

Qin Ruju replied honestly: "In the past ten years, the Qin clan has accumulated about 12 million taels of assets in Southern Chu. Until the Chu army captured Suizhou. The hoarding of gold is only a little more than 60,000 taels. Yang Shuai was ordered to command the army, and after Chang'an's hometown, it was confirmed that Great Xia intended to destroy Chu, and then we moved the camera and gathered nearly 50,000 taels in cash. Now in Southern Chu, the Qin clan has actually become a gorgeous empty shell. The rest of the shops, together with the few goods that support the façade, will not exceed three million taels at most. ”

"Changfeng and I have repeatedly planned to divide it into multiple batches and transport them out in small quantities in the rest of the goods, as long as there is one miss. It will arouse the vigilance of Nan Chu. It is also a risk, it is better to ship it out in two batches under the pretext of giving gifts and bribes. The first batch arrived in Xinyang last month, and there are more than 30,000 taels in the next batch. Whether it will be shipped out smoothly is not yet known. ”

Yang Zhiqi said: "Your algorithm seems to be a little wrong. According to you. You should have hoarded 110,000 taels successively, excluding the 10,000 taels in Nanchu. The two of you add up to only 90,000 taels? Since the first batch has been shipped, the second batch can be concocted according to law. It's a big deal that when I was talking with the envoy of Chu, I was cheeky and asked for a bribe in person! ”

Qin Ruju sighed: "Yang Shuai doesn't know, the crux of the problem is here, it's a long story. ”

Then he explained in detail: "According to the old practice, if the quantity of goods trafficked out of the country is not large, it is only necessary to check the sergeant who searches the country at the time of transit, and then it can be cleared. If you want to traffic grain and military funds, it is not difficult to apply for a license from the household department and the military department, and spend a little more money. In these two cases, even if there are other things entrained, it is nothing more than using silver to open the way, and it can be settled. ”

"However, not all goods trafficked can be solved with silver. Crossing the border is a fat gap with abundant oil and water, how many stupid people will there be for the officers and soldiers who can compete for this position? It's all well and good to get oil and water, but no one is going to risk their lives. Ordinary goods, military materials with complete procedures, inconsequential entrainment, just turn a blind eye to it. Gold is a heavy weight of the scale, if you want to carry it in a big way, the cart can only be loaded with such as tea, large porcelain and other places that occupy a place, the weight and the light to throw goods. And the experienced sergeant, from the gait of the mule and horse, the depth of the ruts, can see at a glance the actual load geometry of the cart! Under a detailed search, how can there be any reason why it will not be exposed? ”

"We originally thought that Tan Chongyuan would not dare to risk the disapproval of the world and openly bribe Yang Shuai, so he could only secretly Chen Cang in the name of Qin's gift, in order to avoid the detailed investigation of the border search sergeant, or he would issue a direct release order, or a pass token for the Prime Minister's Mansion. What a godsend for us! ”

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be another accident. Just after we went back last time, the day after we returned to Tan Chongyuan to meet Yang Shuai, I was summoned to the Prime Minister's Mansion again. This time, I was met by a middle-aged scribe who looked like a master. Straight to the point, Tan Xiang will give Yang Shuai 10,000 taels of gold, so that Yang Shuai can mediate more and promote the two countries to strike the war and negotiate peace. ”

"I originally wanted not to say that there were ten thousand taels of gold, but the Qin family played the role of an errand boy at most, which can be said to be right in the middle. But what the scribe said next surprised me: all the gift cars that were used to disguise, including the gold ten thousand taels, were all provided by the Qin clan! If you feel embarrassed, you will ask other merchants to ship it. It's just that the Qin family is the richest family in Great Xia, and in order to strictly prevent the Qin family's enemies, the grain of rice is not allowed to leave the Chu realm without permission from now on! ”

Yang Zhi said suddenly: "Nanchu is a big country in the world, and it should still be able to get ten thousand taels of gold." This is not just to save money, it is enough to show that Tan Chongyuan has long been aware of your true intentions, otherwise he would not have released such words to threaten. ”

Qin Ruju smiled bitterly: "I thought so at the time. Had it not been for the fact that the scribe's eyes were fixed on me, which aroused my vigilance, I would have almost agreed on the spot. After all, 10,000 taels of gold plus other gifts to disguise is not a small amount for any merchant. If I had promised too much, wouldn't it have made him even more suspicious? He didn't say anything on the spot, but just got up and said goodbye in a hurry under the pretext that he had to step up fundraising. ”

"After I went back, I immediately consulted with Changfeng. But speaking of which, we are still quite puzzled by the sincerity of Tan Chongyuan's move, and we have not been able to negotiate a result for a while. As long as the gold can be shipped out smoothly, don't say that the gold is ten thousand taels, even if it is all given by him Tan Chongyuan, what does it matter? ”

"Don't hide it from Yang Shuai, over the years, in order to spy and collect intelligence, of course, it is also to ensure that no one in the Qin family will be unreasonably embarrassed in Southern Chu, from the Emperor Chu and the harem concubines to the small officials, it costs a lot of money to worship and deal with the commission. But I don't dare to say it, I can rely on it to ensure the integrity of the Qin family. Tan Chongyuan is powerful in the court, and this time he pinched the handle, and he only needed a big hat of seniority and collaborator to buckle down, and the Qin family would take off his skin even if he didn't die! The rest of the officials, if they can report the news in advance, it can be called kind. ”

"In the next few days, in the name of raising funds, I transferred several shops with great profits to the names of three courtiers who were close to Tan Chongyuan, and sent the title deeds of 100 acres of fertile land to the family of the imperial concubine, who was most favored by Emperor Chu, but I failed to find out valuable news related to this. And the Prime Minister's side sent someone to urge, so Changfeng finally decided to take a risk! ”

Yang Zhi patiently listened to Qin Ruju's words, and vaguely thought of a person. asked: "Zhang Bohu, the commander of the Southern Chu Army, became famous in one fell swoop because of his two defeats of the Xia army in Suizhou. Have you ever dealt with this person? ”

Qin Ruju shook his head and said, "No." Tan Chongyuan is in a high position, after all, the Qin family is a merchant with a Great Xia background, and the opportunities to enter and leave the Prime Minister's Mansion are very limited. Tan Chongyuan has many wives and concubines, many children, and the person who has the most dealings with the Prime Minister of the Qin family is the fifth concubine who holds the financial power, as well as the two sons of the second and eighth in line. ”

"That's it." Yang Zhi nodded thoughtfully, and then frowned: "Since Zhang Bohu has seen through this mystery, it is reasonable to say that he will not let it go easily. But why did he do that? Odd! (To be continued.) )