"I can't hide it from my son." Fan Lao looked at the young man in front of him again, and the conversation and laughter with him on the dock seemed to have happened yesterday, at that time, he only felt that the Lang Jun he met by chance was an interesting person with both talent and appearance, and he never thought that he would be a proton of Zhaoguo, and he would never think that he would come to visit him with such a posture today, this life encounter is really wonderful.

"Old Fan, if there is a difficulty, you can come here, you and I have a fateful acquaintance, and I will do everything within the boy's ability."

Blowing away the floating tea leaves on the surface of the tea, Situ Xi looked at the old man in front of him, although he was a proton, but in the eyes of ordinary people, he was also the group of people who were easy to contact with the high-level people of the Chu State, and the old man in front of him obviously knew this very well, so he would come here today.

"The old man said bluntly, the old man wanted to see Huai Minggong, but there was no way." Old man Fan talked about business, stood up from the stool, and bowed to Situ Xi with a very low attitude.

This request did not surprise Situ Xi, he knew what the old man was thinking. Since he was having trouble raising food for the emperor's list, and he was able to find himself here, he obviously wanted to borrow his network, and he really couldn't think of anything else worth using himself.

"The kid hasn't been able to meet my father-in-law, so how can I introduce you to him? You also know that the kid is just a proton. After listening to his appeal, Situ Xi got up and beckoned him back to his seat, took a sip of tea, and then introduced his situation to Fan Lao.

Fan Lao comprehended, took five silver tickets from his arms, and handed them to Situ Xi.

The price can be negotiated slowly, and he came prepared.

"Old Fan, I'm telling the truth." Situ Xi looked at the silver tickets on the table, and the five tickets were all in the denomination of one thousand taels, which was really generous, but he still shook his head and sincerely said that what he said was true.

"But I heard that I was ...... in the Huaiming Mansion yesterday."

After hearing this, Situ Xi immediately shook his head with a wry smile.

Well, this good thing doesn't go out, but the bad thing has spread thousands of miles, and it seems that this old man also heard some rumors yesterday and will come over early in the morning today.

"I don't know if I can know what the old gentleman took over the throne for." Situ Xi was in no hurry to respond.

"I don't hide it from my son, the old decay is to save people. The younger members of the family have been arrested due to some accidents, and if they can share the worries of His Majesty, they may have the opportunity to exchange the reward for a request......"

"Depending on your financial resources, why don't you just pay the grain?" Situ Xi was a little puzzled, the grain brought by this old man was piled up in the port every day, wasn't this enough?

"Gongzi doesn't know, Your Majesty has a great demand this time, and there are many merchants who transport grain to Chu State. Although Lao Yu is quite powerful, he is a businessman after all, and even if he makes his first contribution, he may not be able to meet the holy face. The old and decrepit traveling businessman has never been mixed in Xuan'an, and he is negligent in taking care of it. Because of fate, I met my son again, so I didn't want to go far. That's why I want to ask to see Huai Minggong through Gongzi, no matter how bad it is, I can have a chance to talk. Veteran Fan narrated the difficulties, and after speaking, he hurriedly added: "Don't worry, Childe, the old man is full of sincerity." ”

This is because he is worried that he does not have enough chips, and it seems that the reason why his junior was imprisoned is not simple.

"Does the old gentleman know what His Majesty is doing to collect grain from the four seas?" Situ Xi sat up straight, and changed his name to the old man in front of him, although he was a businessman, he was also an extremely shrewd person, and it was appropriate to call him a gentleman.

Hearing this question thrown by Situ Xi, Fan Lao crossed his fingers and closed the teacup, his eyes were a little evasive, and he looked at the young man in front of him and hesitated: "It is rumored that the Stargazing Academy predicts that there will be a big drought in the Chu State Pass this summer......"

Hearing this answer, Situ Xi just shook his head slightly, staring at him with burning eyes.

Fan Lao also shook his head, exhaled a breath and said helplessly: "When I was a year ago, the imperial court changed the conscription system to a conscription system, too, this is a well-known thing, and naturally I can't hide it from my son." ”

The conscription system was first started in the Spring and Autumn Period in Wu Qi, and the "Wu Zi National Map" contained: "Simply recruit good materials to be prepared." "When Wu Qi formed a team of elite soldiers, he reformed the traditional conscription system.

Originally, the soldiers who were conscripted needed to pay for their own equipment and food, but under the conscription system, the soldiers were paid and exempted from taxes.

This system began to prevail during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty due to the destruction of the military system, and by the time of the Song Dynasty, it had become the main means of recruitment.

"Now the old gentleman knows His Majesty's intention to raise grain?" Situ Xi looked at the old man in front of him again and couldn't help but smile.

Jiangnan is a rich land with a lot of grain, and although it is now March, the people should not be too short of food. Situ Xi has visited around the city, listened to the gossip of others in the restaurant, and read a lot of related books during the period. In recent months, there has not been a large-scale natural disaster in any area in Chu, and naturally there is no need to open a warehouse to release grain for disaster relief.

At this time, the royal family changed the military system, and did not hesitate to hang the emperor's list to purchase grain from the people, and the intention was obvious.

Chu State is located in the southeast side, only adjacent to Zhao State and Li State, I heard that the Li State delegation entered Xuan'an a few days ago, and all the civil and military officials were facing the street to greet ......

The Chu State's movements, whether it was for the purpose of preparing for war, or for the deliberate posture of deterrence or negotiation, or for some other schemes, in short, must be to achieve some strategic goals.

"Old Fan, I'm the prince of Zhaoguo." Situ Xi looked at the old man in front of him who was still pretending to be confused just now, and chuckled.

"Alas, the old man naturally knows, but the son mentioned a few days ago that if you are in trouble, you can come to you, it is the old man who thinks simply...... I'm bothering the son, I still ask the son to accept these silver tickets, and then think of other ways, and leave first, how much offended ...... today"

Squeezing out a smile, Fan Lao drank the tea in the cup. The taste was bitter, and after putting down the cup, he slowly got up, and bowed to Situ Xi apologetically, and then said goodbye.

"Wait! Old Fan, you kid helped. ”

Fan Lao's back paused, thinking that he had misheard, he slowly turned around, and said with some doubts:

"Childe, what did you say?"

Situ Xi also stood up, walked to Fan Lao's side, and looked at him again:

"The kid may not be able to help you meet your father-in-law, but at least you can put your paperwork on his desk. In addition, the kid is also willing to give the old gentleman three small strategies, the old gentleman is interested in listening? ”

After being confirmed again, Fan Lao was overjoyed, and he was confident that he would be supported if he could let Huai Ming Gong read his booklet.

"Really? Thank you so much, old man, I will hand over the reward to you. Old man Fan raised his eyebrows with joy and did not hide it. He hurriedly took out some silver tickets from his pocket, and asked seriously: "I don't know what good plan the son has?" ”

Seeing that Elder Fan handed the silver ticket to him, Situ Xi was not polite, and after taking it casually, he looked at him and smiled:

"This first policy is called exchanging food for food."

Fan Lao's smile stopped abruptly, even if he suppressed his voice, others should be able to hear his surprise.

"Selling the official mantle?!"

That's a good strategy.