Jingzhou, Xiangyang.

Xiangyang is named because it is located in the Yang of Xiangshui. There is a big river in the northeast of Xiangyang called Hanshui, there is a strong city called Fancheng in the north of Hanshui, there are more than ten peaks in the southwest of Xiangyang, the mountains, Fancheng and Hanshui together form the protection system of Xiangyang, like the guardian saint, protect this city from the invasion of foreign enemies.

Xiangyang City was built in the early Han Dynasty, the circumference is 14 miles, the average width of the moat is 73 zhang, the widest point is 102 zhang, and it has the reputation of "Xiangyang of iron".

Because Xiangyang is located in the north-south traffic artery, it is a prosperous place where business and travel gather, and the state pastor Liu Biao guards the land in a good way, so Xiangyang has become a rare piece of peace and happiness in this troubled world, and it is naturally more lively and prosperous than other places. Especially near the Hanshui Wharf outside the "Linhan Gate" of the Great North Gate, there are many shops here, all kinds of teahouses and wine shops are readily available, and it is the distribution center of goods from the north and south. Here, as long as you have money, you can buy all kinds of goods from all over the country. Xiangyang is located at the forefront of north-south trade, and of course it has become a place of contention for various chambers of commerce. There are dozens of chambers of commerce in Xiangyang, but there are only two of the most powerful, namely the Jianghan Association and the Xiangyang Association. The other small chambers of commerce can only survive by relying on these two large chambers of commerce.

The competition between chambers of commerce is not only at the economic level, but also reflected in politics. Because in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the political status of merchants was extremely low, and they could not survive without relying on local bureaucrats. For the bureaucrats, in order to develop their own strength in troubled times, they must use money everywhere, so they also need the support of these businessmen. The collusion between the chamber of commerce and the bureaucracy makes this competing interests extremely complicated.

The main commodities sold by the Jianghan Society and the Xiangyang Society were smuggled horses from the north, so the two sides were incompatible competitors. Rao is so, most of the time the two sides are in a state of cold war, because the strength of the two sides is equal, if one side rashly launches an attack, it must be a lose-lose, and in the end it will only be eliminated by the rising star.

But once the political landscape changes, this Cold War will be broken. Every political struggle has a direct impact on business, leading to a redistribution of power, which is the inevitable result of collusion between government and business. Therefore, for the sake of its own interests, the chamber of commerce will be extremely careful when choosing who to support as a political spokesperson, and the selection object is generally the most prominent local person, so as to ensure the stability of its own power.

For example, the political spokesperson of the Jianghan Society is Liu Biao's eldest son Liu Qi, and the political spokesperson of the Xiangyang Society is Liu Biao's youngest son Liu Cong.

Because Liu Qi is similar to Liu Biao, and he is also Liu Biao's eldest son, he is very likely to become Liu Biao's heir in the future. So Jiang Hanhui took advantage of this to begin to expand the scope of his strength. First, Liu Bei ordered that horses crossing the border from Xinye must be sold to the Jianghan Society, which was an extremely important node on the trade route between Xiangyang and the north, which was tantamount to cutting off the main source of goods for the Xiangyang Society; Then Jiang Hanhui unilaterally put a batch of horses captured from the battlefield provided by Liu Bei into the market at a low price, deliberately lowering the price, forcing Xiangyanghui to follow suit and reduce the price. Under several suppressions, the Xiangyang Society has long since ceased to be glorious and is on the verge of dissolution.

However, this is just the opinion of ordinary people, because there is a group of people who secretly want to influence the rise and fall of the Chamber of Commerce to influence the political situation in Jingzhou.

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Xiangyang, near the Great North Gate, a tavern.

There are two people sitting in the luxurious private room facing the street on the second floor. One of them, dressed in a silk costume and wearing a black room saber at his waist, pretended to be a man, and it was Ren Ruyue, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Military Region. Ruyue already looks good, and this outfit is even more personable, as if she is the noble son of a big family. The other was wearing a red waist-length skirt, a hood, and two light veils hanging down, obviously not wanting people to see his appearance. At this time, there was a charcoal stove with exquisite workmanship in front of the two, and a pottery reel was placed on it, which contained rice wine, and there were several plates of side dishes around the wine reel. The two of them are like a young couple cooking wine and drinking each other, relaxed and comfortable.

Ruyue looked at the bustling crowd downstairs from afar, and asked the red-clothed man sitting opposite her:

"I wonder what Captain He thinks about the current situation in Xiangyang?"

The man in red, who was called "Captain He", tapped the table and immediately responded:

"Jiang Han will be finished!"

This Captain He is Ruyue's think tank, and whenever there is something she doesn't understand, Ruyue always likes to talk to her, of course, this time is no exception. The two men and women are dressed like a young couple without suspecting who they really are.

"Oh, why did Captain He say that?" Ruyue rubbed her chin and asked with interest, "At this moment, the power of the Jiang Han Society is in full swing, and there is no sign of defeat. ”

Captain He slowly explained while scooping wine for Ruyue and himself with a copper spoon in the pottery:

"As the saying goes, full of losses, humble gains. Jiang Hanhui acted so flamboyantly, it can be seen that the day of its defeat is not far away. ”

Ruyue smiled slightly, then raised the lacquer ear cup and drank the warm wine in it. The wine is clear, spicy and mellow, and it must be a good old wine. In late autumn, when the weather turns cooler, you can drink a glass of warm sake, which is also a pleasure to think about.

Ruyue put down the lacquer ear cup, looked at the person in front of her, and asked rhetorically:

"So, Xiangyang will fight back?"

Captain He nodded, and then analyzed to Ruyue:

"The dispute between the Jianghan Society and the Xiangyang Society is not only a commercial competition, but also directly related to the future successor of Jingzhou, so we must look at the victory between the two from the premise of politics. If Xiangyang is defeated, it is equivalent to cutting off a large source of wealth for its behind-the-scenes supporter, Liu Cong. Without the huge economic support of the Xiangyang Society, Liu Cong would also be politically disadvantaged, so Liu Cong would never sit idly by and watch Liu Qi's Jianghan Society wantonly suppress the Xiangyang Society. Then the counterattack of the Xiangyang Society must start with Liu Cong. In fact, Liu Cong has already begun to fight back, and this move is extremely clever. ”

Ruyue's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she immediately asked:

"Are you referring to Liu Cong's marriage to Liu Biao's wife Cai's niece?"

"Absolutely!" Captain He smiled confidently.

As he spoke, he also drank the warm wine in his hand, which was very bold.

After drinking the warm wine, Captain He leaned back slightly, stretching his kneeling legs straight, revealing two crimson Luo socks. If this kind of debauchery is seen by others, it is called a loss of etiquette, and Mencius, who is called a sub-sage by Confucianism, once sat and made trouble because of his wife's troubles to the point of almost divorced his wife. Of course, Ruyue and Captain He are both people of the Heavenly Kingdom, so how can they care about such a common etiquette?

Seeing this, Ruyue also did the same, and stretched her legs straight, revealing two deerskin horn stockings.

Both of them looked at each other and smiled, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.