Chapter Eighty-Five: Black, It's Black!

The eyes of the crowd made Chen Xie feel clear, now is not the time to think about women. happened to be greeted by Wang Chulong, Chen Xie hurriedly bowed his hand, they are all "friends". Wang Chulong's face was not very good-looking, and he hurriedly gave up his hand and was about to leave.

Chen Xie was stunned and said, "What's the matter?" Yingniang secretly hated Wang Chulong's appearance and ruined the ** atmosphere, so she put away her thoughts and said, "Wait a minute, Master Divine Doctor." Let go of his arm and greeted Wang Chulong with a smile, I don't know what to say in his ear, Wang Chulong nodded again and again, he didn't seem to be so angry, a smile appeared on his face, and he reached out to touch Yingniang, but she was dodged by her dexterous turn.

This scene made Chen Xie look a little stupid, this woman is really not simple. Chen Xie, who subconsciously put away that little reverie, somewhat regretted coming to this place to see Shopkeeper Liu.

By the time Yingniang stuffed Wang Chulong into another woman's room and turned back to find Chen Xie, he was gone. grabbed a person and asked, only to know that Chen Xie had gone out. Hurriedly chased out the door, and saw the back of the carriage leaving.

"What's going on? How can you say hello and leave without saying one? Yingniang suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

Chen Xie went out and saw the shopkeeper Liu's car, went up without saying a word, sat down and said, "Find a convenient place to talk." ”

Shopkeeper Liu did not hesitate, and after ordering an address, the carriage headed in the direction of Zhenhai Gate in Beiman. Some time from the city gate, the carriage turned a corner and stopped at the mouth of an alley.

"Owner, the car can't get into this place, go down a few steps." Shopkeeper Liu said that he would get out of the car first and open the door for Chen Xie.

The alley is not long, that is, dozens of meters, and there is a courtyard at the end, which is a bit out of the way, close to the water village. The lights on the castle tower can be seen in the distance, and there are about six or seven lights lit.

Looking at the tall and majestic city wall, Chen Xie couldn't help but think of the things he saw in the book about Dengzhou being harmed by Kong Youde. At that time, it should be Geng Zhongming, Kong Youde, this guy is very cunning, he has always put Li Jiucheng in front, leaving a way back. This back road is the water village.

A woman with a candle came out of the courtyard, and when she saw the shopkeeper Liu, she said with joy: "The master is here?" ”

Chen Xie couldn't help but look at it in surprise, but Shopkeeper Liu didn't have a lot of interest at all. Chen Xie then remembered that he was also a foreigner who donated a watch and did not worship the official. There are many names in this era, and the same person is not called at different stages, you can't get it wrong, otherwise you will have some problems. Take Chen Xie as an example, if it weren't for the donation of the watch and the ambassador of the group training, he would not be called a master.

"The owner, this Liu is an outsider." Shopkeeper Liu explained so, but Chen Xie didn't ask. I have long known that his home is in Muping, more than 200 miles away from Dengzhou, his wife is still in his hometown, and he is alone outside, so it is not surprising that a man in the Ming Dynasty has an outer room. According to the rules, civil officials in the Ming Dynasty were not allowed to bring their families when they were officials outside. It is actually illegal for some civil officials to take concubines while in office. But the officials are also people, and they are not allowed to go, so if they don't accept concubines, everyone should not see them, or they will play with each other.

Liu Qing is a businessman, and no one in the outer room has anything to say. The merchants of the Ming Dynasty were not simple, some were themselves representatives of the gentry family in the shopping mall, and some used silver as a weapon, and the officialdom had spokespersons. This is one of the reasons why commercial taxes in the last years of the Ming Dynasty did not come up.

Without mentioning the gossip, soon another woman came out, who didn't look too old, and her appearance could only be regarded as delicate, standing at the door Wanfu, and said with a smile: "Isn't the master going to Chunxianglou to talk about things?" How did this come back? When she saw Chen Xie standing aside, she immediately put away her smile and gave Chen Xie a blessing in a proper manner: "Slave Lianxin, I have seen the master of the miracle doctor." ”

Chen Xie smiled and said nothing, even if it was very polite. Shopkeeper Liu said: "Go and clean up a table of side dishes, scald a pot of wine, I have something to talk with the owner." Lianxin invited the two of them to enter, the place is not big, but it is divided into east and west, into the west chamber, after putting down the candle and serving tea, Lianxin hurried out, the maid waited outside, handed over a bottle of wine and said: "This is the master of the divine doctor brought it." ”

Chen Xie only then talked about what he talked about with Zhang Yao today, but he didn't say the details, which roughly meant that Zhang Yao opposed his entry into the martial arts, and he was not allowed to expand the group training too much, and finally pointed out that there is a thousand households near Zhangjiazhuang.

Shopkeeper Liu groaned a little and then stroked his palm and smiled: "The owner is extremely smart, and he can't figure out the reason for this, just because he doesn't know the Ming military system." Listen to me slowly. Shopkeeper Liu said this and this, Chen Xie only had a certain understanding of the military system of the Ming Dynasty. The guard belongs to the local army, and it is impossible to leave the place without orders from above. Military households are lifelong, and they are generally hereditary. However, the system of guards was corrupted long ago, and many places existed in name only, military households had long since become peasants, and officers were all landlords. There is indeed a thousand households near Zhangjiazhuang, but there are many military households who can't survive and flee, and there is a lot of abandoned land. A lot of land bought by Shopkeeper Liu is to build a school and a military camp for group training, and many of these lands are from the health center.

"The proprietor has a big business, and he refuses to live in Dengzhou City, so he has to hold a group exercise. The meaning of the master of the Zhang family, you might as well use some silver, find a few people from the family, and take the position of the thousands of households near Zhangjiazhuang. At present, there is one of the agents of this joint firm, and behind it is the old man of the guard. Weihaiwei's commander Xu Menghe is its biggest backstage. The Ming Dynasty was noble and martial, and Master Zhang was afraid that the owner would go astray. Once in the military, it's too late. Nowadays, the officials and masters of Dengzhou, who do not share some silver from the joint firm every year, the more is five or six thousand taels a year, and the less is one hundred and eighty taels. As long as the proprietor raises one person, the position of a thousand households is not too difficult, that is, a matter of five or six thousand taels of silver. When the time comes, relying on Zhangjiazhuang, don't you just practice what you want? ”

Shopkeeper Liu didn't say it, Chen Xie hadn't understood it yet, now the joint firm, except for the old men behind those agents, which civil service system has the benefits of the joint firm?

"Let's take the commander Xu Menghe as an example, the agent Xu Fenggang is the brother of the commander Xu, and the representative of the business of the Wei Institute. Xu Fenggang's deal was originally not too big, why was he able to win a agency, isn't it because of the guard behind it? If anyone offends him, it is equivalent to offending the entire Weihaiwei. In Liu's humble opinion, even if there is no ready-made position, as long as he is given an extra 1,000 daily chemical suits every month, there will be a place if there is no place, isn't it just killing thousands of households? Compared with hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year, a thousand lives are really nothing. ”

When it comes to this, it is a little gloomy in the back, and Chen Xie feels a little chilly in his back when he listens to it. The officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is really too dark, and the army system is even darker. It can be seen that Zhang Yao, who is well versed in officialdom, is also quite ruthless when he is black.

"It's so dark!" Chen Xie, who was talking to himself, looked a little ugly, and Shopkeeper Liu also sighed and said: "It's black, isn't it like this up and down the Ming Dynasty?" Take the Dengzhou battalion as an example, there are more than 9,000 soldiers on the roster, and the actual number is definitely less than sixty percent, and among the remaining sixty percent, most of them are old and weak, and they are really capable of fighting, but there are a few families under each general, and the entire Dengzhou battalion adds up to 1,000 people, which is already too much. The guard station is even more unbearable, taking Weihaiwei as an example, there is one commander, two people with the same knowledge, four people in the office, and two people in the suppression. Experience, Governor, Officer, Ambassador, and Deputy Envoy each have one. Below the thousand households, set up one person in the main thousand households, two deputy thousand households, two people in the town, one official, under the jurisdiction of the hundred households have two general flags, ten small flags. Officials at all levels have not changed, what about military households? Compared to the beginning of the establishment of the guard, there are seven achievements left. ”

Speaking of which, Su Xin came up with wine and food, four cold dishes, and a pot of wine. The taste of this wine is wrong, Liu Qing sniffed hard, the liquor produced by modern industry, without adding some flavor, is it embarrassing to call it wine?

"It's so fragrant, is this the owner's handiwork again? Blessed is today. Liu Qing poured the wine with his hands, filled a glass for Chen Xie, filled a glass for himself, and said, "Touch one." Chen Xie was very face-saving, and the two had a drink.

Chen Xie, who recognized the reality, was much lower, and the difficulty of starting a family business in the Ming Dynasty was far beyond previous expectations. Don't look at how happy he was before, the root is not how capable Chen Xie is, but that he can bring enough benefits to some people.

"Boss, I can't help but say that you are amazingly lucky. When I first arrived in Dengzhou, I was able to get acquainted with Zhang Gong, and it was difficult to say if I changed to another squire. What happened next, Liu didn't say it, you know it very well. It's not that this American cargo can only be owned by you, how much blood is there in Dengzhou? Whichever one of them, I can't wait to swallow your net worth in one bite. Hey, Ming Dynasty! ”

Liu Qing and Liu's shopkeeper said this for the first time in front of Chen Xie, which was also because Chen Xie discussed the matter of a thousand households with him, which gave him a sense of confidant. has been up and down in the business sea all the year round, and Liu Qing is keenly aware that if he mixes with Chen Xie, he may be able to make a name for himself. Especially after seeing Chen Xie's training methods, this feeling became stronger and stronger. Today is an opportunity, hug the thigh of Chen Xie, who is not destined to be in the pool, and get rid of the identity of this businessman in the future.

When Chen Xie was silently groaning, Liu Qing saw it in his eyes and was happy in his heart, and secretly talked earnestly, and the owner listened to it. It's time to add another pair of fierce medicine: "Dongjia, now under the rule of Denglai, there are not a few people who rely on you to make a fortune." These people can't get along with anyone, and they won't get along with silver. Since as long as your supply continues, the silver will not be less, and you don't have to bother to hurt your brain, who is willing to move your mind, and who dares to move your mind. ”

These words can be regarded as boosting Chen Xie's somewhat frustrated feelings: "That's right, that's the truth." In fact, Chen Xie was determined to speed up the pace of army building. As long as you have a strong army in your hand, who dares to mess around, ask if the rifle agrees.