Poor Liu Ruoyu has been locked up in the Imperial Prison and has not been taken care of for more than two years. At this moment, I unexpectedly saw my former cellmate Xu Liang, and I couldn't help but feel comforted, and tears flowed.

Xu Liang stood for a long time before Gonggong Liu stopped his sobbing tears, looked at Xu Liang, burst into laughter, took Xu Liang's hand and said again and again: "Brother, you can still come to see me, I, I'm happy." Come on, no one has asked and no one has paid attention to me for more than two years, I thought that I was going to die in prison in this life, today Brother Xu, you are here, our family doesn't ask for anything else, you can talk to me. ”

Xu Liang said solemnly: "Okay." I didn't care about the mess on the bed, so I sat on the edge of the bed casually and accompanied Father-in-law Liu.

Father-in-law Liu seemed to have seen his relatives who had been reunited for a long time, and he chattered about what had happened to him in the past two years, or what he had seen and heard.

He spoke very incoherently, and often did not match the preamble. And after all, Gonggong Liu has been in prison for the past two years, and he has very few opportunities to go out to let off steam, even if he sees and hears it, plus the things that he guessed are all put together, and it takes more than an hour to finish it quickly, there are two or three things, he turned it over and over, and repeated it twice.

Xu Liang listened quietly, and at this moment he finally confirmed one thing, this father-in-law Liu, who was once regarded as Wei Zhongxian's right-hand man, was now just an old man who had been locked up for a long time and was not sober enough.

If there was no Xu Liang's arrival, it is estimated that Liu Gonggong would be lonely and on death row. And Xu Liang came, and gave Liu Gonggong a little comfort. Compared with those disciples and grandchildren who fell with Wei Zhongxian, it is extremely difficult for Liu Ruoyu to live peacefully until now.

More than an hour of chattering. made Liu Ruoyu, who was originally weak, even more depressed and sat in the corner of the bed. His head hung down in his long hair, as if he was about to fall asleep.

Xu Liang said softly: "Father-in-law." You're tired today, let's talk about it here, and I'll talk to you another day. ”

When Gonggong Liu heard this, he raised his head, stared at Xu Liang for a long time, and begged: "Okay, Brother Xu, you have to be honest when you speak, and you can't lie to me." ”

Xu Liang comforted: "Don't worry. Then he asked, "There is a big man next door to you, does your father-in-law know?" ”

Xu Liang originally thought that the Liu Gong Guild would be surprised. Unexpectedly, Gonggong Liu's reaction was to pout his lips dissatisfied, turned his head and said: "Don't bother with Yuan Chonghuan, he is very arrogant, our family called him no less than ten times, and he ignored it." ”

Xu Liang was stunned, shook his head, comforted Liu Ruoyu a few times, and then withdrew from the cell. Instead, he walked towards the cell where Yuan Chonghuan was kept.

Liu Ruoyu's eyes looked through the long scattered hair and saw that Xu Liang really went to see Yuan Chonghuan. I couldn't help but grunt angrily, covered my head, fell asleep on the bed, and was out of sight and out of mind.

Guan Yuan Chonghuan's cell has the same layout as Guan Liu Ruoyu's. Since the cell door was not opened, Xu Liang saluted Yuan Chonghuan, who was sitting on the bed inside, through the fence: "Xiaguan Shaanxi participates in politics Xu Liang, meet Inspector Yuan." ”

Yuan Chonghuan opened his eyes. The knife-like gaze shot at Xu Liang, making Xu Liang feel like he was being targeted by a wolf.

Yuan Chonghuan's deep voice came out: "Xu Liang? Yuan doesn't know you. What are you doing coming to see me? ”

Xu Liang smiled politely and said, "Lord Inspector guards Liaodong. The lower official is far away in Shaanxi, and the superintendent naturally does not know the lower official. ”

"Since we don't know each other, then Yuan and you have nothing to say." Yuan Chonghuan waved his hand and said like a fly: "Lord Xu, let's go back and talk to the old madman next door." ”

Liu Ruoyu shouted angrily: "The surname is Yuan, who are you scolding a madman?!" Our family has a name and a surname, my name is Liu Ruoyu! ”

Dare to love Father-in-law Liu has been paying attention to the movement here.

Yuan Chonghuan snorted disdainfully.

Xu Liang touched the tip of his nose, his expression a little scornful. Yuan Chonghuan was arrogant, Xu Liang had heard of it, so he didn't expect Yuan Chonghuan, who had been imprisoned, to be so difficult to speak.

He reorganized his language and said kindly: "Although the lower officials are far away in Shaanxi, they have a lot of respect for Inspector Yuan. That Inspector Yuan guarded Liaodong, and his prestige spread far and wide, thanks to the Daming Jiangshan Sheji......"

Yuan Chonghuan snorted coldly, interrupted Xu Liang, and said self-deprecatingly: "Lord Xu, Yuan is now in a cage, with iron chains, what other prestige can he have?" Are you laughing at Yuan when you say this? ”

Xu Liang hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Where, this is not what Xia Guan meant." ”

"And what do you mean?" Yuan Chonghuan stared at Xu Liang and said in a mocking tone.

Xu Liang couldn't help but sigh secretly, although Yuan Chonghuan was dismissed and imprisoned, his tone of voice was majestic, but he was still strong.

Xu Liang had no choice but to say directly: "The lower officials are here, in fact, there is something I want to ask Inspector Yuan. ”

"If you have something to say, let it go if you have a fart! Yuan's time is precious. Yuan Chonghuan said coldly.

Will you still chat?! Xu Liang scolded secretly. Holding back his anger, Xu Liang lowered his voice and asked directly: "Mao Wenlong, the former general soldier of Phi Island, has a sheepskin diamond scripture in his hand, after Mao Wenlong was killed by you, the scripture is in your hand?" ”

When Yuan Chonghuan heard this, he looked up to the sky and laughed, then looked at Xu Liang, and asked coldly: "It turns out that you are the person from Commander Luo!" Luo Dudu asked me about these words as early as the first few days after Yuan was imprisoned. Now I will say to you again: I don't know what scriptures I have. ”

Xu Liang stared at Yuan Chonghuan for a moment, and said slowly: "If Inspector Yuan can hand over that scripture, or point out the whereabouts of the scriptures, the lower officials can guarantee you that you will leave the edict unharmed." ”

Yuan Chonghuan seemed to have heard an extremely funny joke, raised his head, and said very disdainfully: "Coercion can't be successful, and you're starting to lure?" Hmph, Bendu's life, why do you need to save it! Your Majesty is wise and martial, and he will naturally understand the loyalty of the Governor in the future, and it will not be long before the Governor will be able to return to Liaodong and take charge of the army again. ”

Xu Liang shook his head and couldn't bear to say: "Inspector Yuan doesn't know, Your Majesty has appointed Sun Chengzong, a scholar of Wuyingdian University, to be the governor of Jiliao. ”

Yuan Chonghuan was slightly stunned, and then said: "Lord Sun is old, how can he stay in the bitter cold land of Liaodong for a long time?" Once the governor is reinstated, Lord Sun will return to the capital. ”

Xu Liang shook his head and smiled bitterly, and then changed his words. said: "If Inspector Yuan can get the support of Luo Dudu, he will be able to see the light of day as soon as possible." ”

Unexpectedly, the disdain on Yuan Chonghuan's face was even worse. sneered and shouted: "What kind of thing is Luo Yangxing?!" Dare to influence the life and death of the Governor? Except for His Majesty today, no one can touch the Governor! He glanced at Xu Liang again. He reprimanded angrily: "You little official is full of oily mouth, you don't have a word of truth, Bendu looks upset, get out of here!" ”

Xu Liang's face was even more stunned, even annoyed. Angrily shook off his robe, turned his head and strode out of the prison.

The negotiation broke down, and Xu Liang didn't have the face to see Luo Yangxing, so he explained a few words to the accompanying Jinyi lieutenant, and Xu Liang walked out of the Jinyi Guard Yamen with an unhappy face.

A few days passed. On the eighth day of the first month of March, Feng Suqin and others hurried and finally arrived in the capital.

This time, along with Feng Suqin and Lou Xian'er, there are Xu Liang's eldest brother Xu Jiang, Ge Qiao and others who are all over the world. As for Luo Baiguan, Wu Side, Tie Siye and others stayed in Pingliang and took care of the business in the northwest.

Feng Suqin and dozens of people lived in the Dongjiang Courtyard, and Rou'er saw the beauty and temperament of the two ladies of the Xu Mansion with her own eyes, and couldn't help but bow down.

Feng Suqin is the daughter of Xiong Tingbi, the former governor of Liaodong. And Lou Xian'er is also the daughter of the Northwest businessman Jia Lou's family, and the living conditions and environment of the two daughters since they were young are very different from Rou'er from ordinary peasant families.

Feng Suqin and Lou Xian'er were a little unhappy at first when there was suddenly a pretty girl ring in the Dongjiang Courtyard, but when Xu Liang hugged the two ladies and slept together all night. After taking advantage of the good atmosphere to explain, the two ladies of the Xu Mansion looked much better when they saw Rou'er the next day.

Feng Suqin took out the style of the lady of the Xu Mansion. He also called Rou'er over and rewarded him with some gold and silver jewelry. Show the style of the housewife.

Later, after learning that Xu Liang and Wang Xian and other three officials in Beijing had partnered to set up a Xishan coal mine. Feng Suqin offered to go to Xishan in person. Censor and review the Xia shopkeeper. So she and Lou Xian'er rested in the Dongjiang Courtyard for three days, then asked for a carriage and went to the Xishan Coal Mine.

Among several people, Xu Liang's eldest brother Xu Jiang followed him into Beijing for Chongzhen's three-year palace test. When Ge Qiao entered Beijing, he heard that Xu Liang was staying in Beijing, and he also planned to suggest to Xu Liang that the headquarters of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce be moved from Xi'an to Beijing, so he followed him all the way.

After listening to Ge Qiao's suggestion, Xu Liang pondered for a while, but he did not agree. As Ge Qiao said, the relocation of the headquarters of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce to Beijing can use the influence of the central court to rapidly expand the strength of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce. However, Xu Liang believes that the court officials, the inner courtyard of the imperial palace, the Beijing camp, the nobles, the royal family and other forces are intertwined and mixed, and it is very easy for a pure non-governmental organization like the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce to cause trouble.

Xu Liang's idea was to move the headquarters of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce to Nanjing. Because the most prosperous commerce of the Ming Dynasty were in the south, and the political situation in the south was relatively stable, there was no attack of the Tartars, although occasionally you can hear about the invasion of coastal defense by the Japanese invaders, but in general, the southern provinces have always been a commercially developed area. Its total tax revenue accounts for more than eighty percent of the court.

After listening to Xu Liang's analysis, Ge Qiao also admitted that Xu Liang was very reasonable, so after asking Yan Qi to explain some things about the logistics of the world, he turned to Nanjing with a group of capable forces to prepare for the relocation of the headquarters of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce.

The first batch of honeycomb coal produced by Xishan Coal Mine has been delivered to Jingying, and thanks to the help of Yu Dacheng, the payment for that batch of honeycomb coal was almost paid off on arrival. The first business went so smoothly that Xu Liang and others were greatly encouraged, and they made an appointment to meet again in Kelaiju in the evening.

Xu Liang submitted a letter of authorization to operate Liang Ji Mining notarized by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce to Wang Xian, Sun Yuanhua, Yu Dacheng and other three people for circulation.

Sun Yuanhua glanced at it and asked curiously, "Brother Xu, what does this authorization letter mean?" ”

Xu Liang took a bite of the food, ate it beautifully, and then said quietly: "You should know that honeycomb coal was invented by me Xu Liang, and its first production was made by Liang Ji Mining, so Liang Ji Mining is the right to make honeycomb coal. But now the Xishan Coal Mine, which is a partnership between the four of us, is also producing honeycomb coal, so in order to maintain the legitimacy of our Xishan Coal Mine, the Xishan Coal Mine must be authorized to operate by Liang Kee Mining. That's why this power of attorney exists. ”

Sun Yuanhua nodded slowly. However, Wang Xian didn't have any heart, and after listening to Xu Liang's explanation, he smiled disdainfully: "The four of us partner to open a small factory and make some small money, Brother Xu, you will inevitably get too much Mingtang." ”

When Xu Liang heard this, he looked at Wang Xian and said, "Brother Wang's words are wrong. Presumably, the three elder brothers have also been to Xishan to see, our honeycomb coal production method is not complicated, we can do it, then it is difficult to ensure that other businesses will also follow the same example and make a similar honeycomb coal to compete with us. ”

Wang Xian stood up and shouted angrily, "Who? Who dares to be so bold and grab food from our brothers' four bowls?! I'll kill him! ”

Xu Liang looked at Wang Xian helplessly, and said with a wry smile: "Brother Wang, there are more businessmen in the world, how many can you kill in one official?" ”

Wang Xian was stunned when he heard this, turned to point at Sun Yuanhua, and said with a smile: "Isn't there still our squire." ”

Xu Liang looked at Sun Yuanhua, shook his head and didn't speak.

In the end, Sun Yuanhua was still a sober person, looked at the power of attorney again, nodded slowly, and said, "I think Brother Xu's approach is extremely thorough. You see, this power of attorney says that the Chinese Entrepreneur Association protects the patent rights and interests of the members of the chamber of commerce, and the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce will severely crack down on illegal commercial industries that infringe on patent rights. Sun Yuanhua looked at Wang Xian and Yu Dacheng and said: "That is to say, with this authorization letter, in the entire city of Beijing, only our Xishan Coal Mine is qualified to produce honeycomb coal, and other imitating businessmen will be severely cracked down by the China General Chamber of Commerce." In this way, we are free from worries. Seeing Wang Xian and Yu Dacheng nodded suddenly, Sun Yuanhua looked at Xu Liang, frowned and asked, "It's just Brother Xu, where is this Chinese Chamber of Commerce?" ”

Xu Liang smiled slightly and said, "The headquarters of the Chinese Federation of Merchants is located in Nanjing. In the city of Beijing, there is also a Beijing branch, which is set up near the Fahua Temple in the outer city. ”

After explaining the matter of the power of attorney, the four of them began to concentrate on the food in front of them. After eating and drinking for a while, Xu Liang suddenly noticed that Wang Xian didn't talk much today and his mood was not high, so he asked curiously: "Brother Wang, what is wrong with your mood today, what's wrong?" ”

Hearing Xu Liang's question, Sun Yuanhua and Yu Dacheng also put down their chopsticks and looked at Wang Xian.

Wang Xian snorted and drank a glass of wine, hissed, looked at Xu Liang and the others one by one, shook his head and sighed: "It's not a big deal." Recently, our lord Wang Yongguang, the secretary of the ministry, was not in a good mood, and even the officials who took care of the ministry were not pleasing to the eye, and caught me with a little mistake in my errand, and today he called me in for training for half an hour! ”

"And that kind of thing?" Xu Liang was surprised, the matter involved Wang Yongguang, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, this was Xu Liang's decision to approach the candidate to hug his thighs, Xu Liang was particularly concerned, and asked: "What can make the officials of the Ministry of Officials unhappy?" Quick, let's hear it. ”

Wang Xian listened, looked at Sun Yuanhua hesitantly, and saw Xu Liang looking at him with blank eyes, so he pointed at Sun Yuanhua and said, "Brother Sun should have heard about this." ”

Sun Yuanhua was surprised: "This ...... And my business? ”

Wang Xian stretched out his hand and pointed to the top of his head, and sighed: "There has been a word in the palace asking our officials to draw up a few candidates for the cabinet. His Majesty is determined to add more Cabinet Ministers. ”

Xu Liang was even more attentive and listened carefully to Wang Xian's words.

When Sun Yuanhua heard that this was the case, he nodded and said, "So this is the case!" I know that my mentor Xu Guangqi is also one of the candidates. ”

Wang Xian nodded and said, "Lord Xu is old and serious, and he is the emperor of the Son of Heaven, so it is reasonable to enter the cabinet. It's just that you don't know that Wen Tiren, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, is also a candidate, he is Zhou Shoufu's favorite candidate, and he has already greeted the Ministry of Officials. But our Wang Shangshu didn't quite agree. ”

Xu Liang listened, but it was even more strange, and said: "This is strange, Wang Shangshu is already a heavenly official of the Ministry of Officials, and his authority is not weaker than that of ordinary cabinet ministers, Wen Tiren wants to be a scholar, so let him be a scholar, what does Wang Shangshu disagree with?" ”

Wang Xian glanced at Xu Liang, lowered his voice, and said, "You don't know, there has been a festival between our Wang Shangshu and Wen Shangshu for a long time" (to be continued............