Zhang Kuo saw that Xiao Hua was determined and unmoved by the beauty, so he had to smile vaguely: "Brother Xiao, I invited you here just to drink and listen to music, and I have no other intentions." ”

"Oh, really?" Xiao Hua was about to stand up with his right hand on his knee and the carpet was about to stand up, and said in his mouth: "In this case, the wine has been drunk, I have given you face, and there is no need to listen to the sound of beauty, so let's say goodbye." ”

Yuan Zai's eyes widened, and the regret in his heart was like a drop of blood, he had just been seated for a while, and he had not yet had any interaction with the beauty, this person was actually leaving, it was really a waste of such a good wine game.

Zhang Kuo hurriedly raised his hand to stop him: "Hey, why is Brother Xiao so anxious, and Brother Yuan, the night is long, and the ...... is long."

Xiao Hua's face suddenly turned cold, and he was about to leave with his sleeves, Zhang Kuo had no choice but to sigh and say, "Okay, there is indeed something important to discuss below." ”

He sat back down at the table, his face solemn and unapproachable. Zhang Kuo waved his hand to the beauties present, and they got away from the guests cleanly. Yuan Zai woke up like from a dream, watched the beauty Qingyun leave from him, and reluctantly tugged at her skirt.

After they all left, Zhang Kuo raised his hands and clapped his hands, and two small servants walked out from behind the screen, each holding a small box in both hands, so heavy that he even had to walk slowly.

The box was placed on both sides of Zhang Kuo's long case, and the little guy reached out to open the box, and Yuan Zaedeng gasped, and there were neat gold collars in this box, and the golden light was dazzling.

Pig loin silver is about one tael equivalent to the same money, gold is ten times, these gold weigh more than 100 catties, equivalent to tens of thousands of treasures. If he, the head of Dali Temple, does not seek foreign wealth, he will not be able to earn so much gold collar in his life only by relying on those fortunes issued by the imperial court.

Xiao Hua scanned the gold with cold eyes and contempt, as if they were a foul stench that stained his soul.

Yuan Zai smiled and arched his hands: "Brother Zhang Kuo, we have no merit, how dare we accept your yellow ......"

His voice was interrupted by Xiao Hua's sharp reprimand: "The two of us have received the grace of His Majesty, and we have come to Hexi to investigate the case on official business. ”

Zhang Kuo hurriedly stood up and crossed his hands and said: "Xu Guogong's loyalty and righteousness make me deeply admired, Zhang Kuo thinks that he has saved people, and he really shouldn't test his brother with wealth." ”

Xiao Hua's expression eased, and he raised his head and said coldly: "If you have anything else, please say it together, don't waste our time." ”

Zhang Kuo sat down slowly, dispelled the servant with his eyes, and took a sip of the wine cup to moisten his throat, while the words were brewing in his belly. "Brother Xiao, Brother Yuan, you came to Dunhuang to check on our Western Regions Chamber of Commerce?"

Xiao Hua looked like he was rejecting people thousands of miles away: "That's true." ”

Zhang Kuo sighed helplessly: "Brother Xiao Langzhong, do you know how many people's net worth you will cut off with this move?" How many wives will be separated and homeless. ”

"Zhang Kuo, don't bluff me, this official has traveled all the way, visited the people's feelings and public opinions, and has a general understanding of your Western Regions Chamber of Commerce. You have monopolized an entire official road and post road, and turned public equipment into private use. Since the establishment of our own business, Gaozu Taizong has made it clear that officials above the fifth grade are not allowed to enter the market, which is intended to prevent competition with the people for profit. But you colluded with the government to dominate the pepper trade and make huge profits from it. As a result, many of the merchants who walked in India turned to other businesses, or simply abandoned their own business and cut off their livelihoods! I want to ask Brother Zhang, did you cut off the net worth of many people? ”

Zhang Kuo put down the wine cup, his eyes flashed with a fierce light, and then he smiled: "Xiao Langzhong, I don't know where you got this news from, this is biased and biased, and it makes no sense. Do you know that before the transfer of pepper trade route was opened, there were only three or four caravans walking on the southern trade route to India, and these people transported pepper to Hexi and even the Central Plains every year only more than 100 stones, and colluded with each other to inflate the price, resulting in the price of Luoyang paper, a small handful of pepper, was actually fried to ten times the price of 100 times, the average price of pepper in Chang'an West City in the early years of Tianbao was 1,000 guan and a bucket, which made ordinary people frightened! ”

"Now our chamber of commerce has spent a lot of money to build a post road from Green Ridge to Xiao Bolu, and from Xiao Bolu to India, turning the thousands of miles into a thoroughfare. Then plan manpower, so that all the ethnic groups along the way can be used by me, and the relay transportation will be managed. Just a year after the opening of the trade road, more than 500 stones of pepper and spices were transported to Chang'an and other places in Hexi. Nowadays, the post station is becoming more and more proficient, and it can transport more than 1,500 stones of pepper every year, and more than 700 stones of spices and sandalwood. The price of pepper in Chang'an City has dropped from 1,000 to more than 600, is this equivalent to benefiting the people? ”

"Besides, you say that we have taken the way of life, whose way of life have we taken? You said that those businessmen used to have to risk their lives from Tianzhu all the way to work hard, but now they only need to buy goods at any place in Yangguan, Jiuquan, Zhangye, and Wuwei, which not only reduces the cost, but also exempts them from hard work, which is a good thing that everyone is happy about, why has it become a big evil in your mouth to compete with the people for profit? ”

Xiao Hua clasped his hands on his knees, leaned back slightly, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth, and asked indifferently: "The market price of pepper in Chang'an is six hundred and thirty, and Dunhuang is six hundred and twenty guan." The price given by the Western Regions Chamber of Commerce to the partner is 500 guan, and a small part of the labor cost is thrown away from these 500 guan, where is the rest? Is it carved up by the beneficiaries, you Dunhuang Zhang can't wait to jump out tonight, and you must have also taken a piece of the pie. ”

Zhang Kuo hurriedly raised his hands and said with a smile: "Brother Xiao, you are wrong, how can our family have such a size, it is just to live under the big tree of the Western Regions Chamber of Commerce and get a little rain and sunshine." But I want to advise the foolish brother, don't drill the horns of the horns and dead ends, the interests in this are complicated, and the forces behind them are far greater than you can imagine. Brother Xiao, you are famous and noble, and you have a bright future, why do you need to put yourself in the public target? ”

This sentence can be regarded as a naked threat, which makes the atmosphere between the three people present instantly freeze, and Yuan Zai wants to ease the atmosphere and make a round, but he doesn't know how to speak.

Xiao Hua stood up from the front of the case and stood up awe-inspiringly, his eyes were shining, and his posture was high-spirited like a hero going to death, and the strong man was killed: "Before I came to Dunhuang to investigate this case, I already knew that there would be difficulties and dangers this time. A Tianzhu pepper trade road, with an annual profit of one million, is equivalent to one-tenth of the rent of my Datang country! Among them, there are countless stakeholders, many officials in the three towns of Anxi, Beiting, and Hexi, and the wealthy families from all over the country are involved, as well as the four military towns of Anxi, the three armies of Beiting, the 70,000 children of Hexi, the military envoys of various armies, and even the one who controls the soldiers and horses of the three towns, all of whom have benefited a lot as the lifeblood. ”

"But I, Xiao Hua, am afraid! I'm in the light, you're in the dark, you have a thousand means, and I only have one blood! He bent his fingers and pointed to the floor and said loudly: "I must go to the head office of the Western Regions Chamber of Commerce in Yangguan, and I have also confirmed this case!" Even if it is a knife and axe, it will not change its original intention! You can kill me, but don't try to block my way, if I die, it will shock the court, please Brother Zhang and the princes of Hexi think more. ”

Xiao Hua said that, he turned around and strode out of the door, with a great momentum of not looking back. Zhang Kuo shouted angrily behind him: "Xiao Hua! “

Xiao Hua stopped his figure, Zhang Kuo mistakenly thought that there was still a turning point, so he pleaded in a bitter tone: "Brother Xiao, you should judge the situation and think about it, are those people who drove you to investigate the case really for what kind of justice and justice?" Is it really for the people? No! They are just attacking their opponents for their own selfish interests, for the sake of so-called power! Only you are stupidly willing to be someone else's pawn, and you offend a bunch of people in vain, and the gains outweigh the losses! ”