After a few days, Xiao Changle was completely out of danger, Xiao Rui no longer took care of it personally, and handed it over to Li Xueyan every day to arrange for someone to change shifts, Xiao Rui was only responsible for changing the dressing and cooking the sick meal himself. The rest of the time, you can communicate with the people of Lingnan, and by the way, take a look at the southern coastal scenery of the Tang Dynasty.

Feng Ang waited for half a month, and finally waited for Xiao Rui to finish his work, and the first thing he did was to hold him for a secret talk.

"Master Hou, you must point out clearly, the imperial court gave Lingnan so much silver at once, there should be nothing wrong, right? If there is something to say, although Lingnan Feng Ang is not talented, as long as it is for the imperial court, we will never lag behind. ”

The implication is that if you don't tell your purpose first, I won't dare to take your money.

Xiao Rui really didn't expect that I would send you silver all the way, what's the matter? Can't you send it out yet? Let me pull it back again? Am I easy? More than a dozen carriages were crushed along the way!

"Geng Guogong, isn't it just a little silver, Lingnan is also under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, and the border soldiers in Lingnan are also His Majesty's guards, Your Majesty can't take the time to visit, so you can only send some money to express your heart, so as to tell the soldiers that Your Majesty has not forgotten everyone."

"Are you too careful? Or is it too little money? ”

Few?

Feng Ang hurriedly waved his hand: "No, no, no, it's too much." Hou Ye misunderstood, and heard General Fang say that this batch of silver is more than 300,000 taels, not to mention the payment of silver, even if all of them are issued in double copies, it is enough for the expenses of Lingnan soldiers and horses for a year. ”

"But Feng, as an official of the imperial court, knows the laws and regulations of the imperial court, and the local garrisons are supported by the local autonomy, and there is no rule for the imperial court to transfer from the Beijing division. What you said about the Lao Army......"

"Let's put it this way, tell me the truth, if the soldiers and horses on the border of the surrounding states and roads have such a share, then Feng will not shirk. But if only Lingnan has this share, then we can't ask for it. ”

Xiao Rui was silent, not because he had nothing to say, but because he didn't think about what to say, or rather, he was analyzing why Feng Ang was this? The money given by the imperial court, no matter what the purpose, is there anything else in Lingnan that dare not ask for it? The imperial court has sent people to try to insert them into Lingnan many times over the years, but they have all failed, Lingnan is almost completely autonomous, and there are still things you dare not do?

Could it be that you suddenly have a sincere heart for Lingnan, but you are not used to it?

That's right, it must be so, and everyone would think the same way.

Thinking of this, Xiao Rui decided to tell the truth, Feng Ang didn't trust the emperor, so he didn't believe that the emperor was so kind, so he had to tell the truth.

"Geng Guogong, take the liberty of asking, isn't it that there is too much silver, and Lingnan doesn't know how to spend it? If that's the case, then I can help offer advice once, and the court will definitely not find fault with it. ”

Hearing this, Feng Ang smiled.

From beginning to end, his purpose was not to really refuse, but to test the truth, that is, this silver was definitely not given by the imperial court. After many years of mixing in officialdom, experiencing two dynasties, and experiencing troubled times to peace, Feng Ang may not know enough about Li Er, the emperor of the current dynasty, but he knows officialdom. The ministers of the imperial court would never spend huge sums of money to help the local labor army, so the source of this money is very boring.

"Master Hou, if I guessed correctly, this silver was not given by the imperial court, right?" Feng Ang looked at Xiao Rui playfully.

Xiao Rui also smiled and asked rhetorically, "You can't trust the imperial court?" Still can't trust Your Majesty? ”

Belch......

Feng Ang secretly scolded Xiao Rui for being insidious, isn't this a trick for me?

"When His Majesty was eloquent and strategic, no one was dissatisfied with his martial arts, including that open-mindedness, Feng Ang was also extremely admired and admired. How dare you doubt Your Majesty? ”

Li Er: I'm sorry to disappoint you! If it weren't for the fact that Tanzhou was too far away from Chang'an, I wouldn't be able to control Xiao Rui's monkey cub, and I would dare to guarantee that I wouldn't be able to reach Lingnan with one or two taels of silver.

Xiao Rui laughed and said: "That's it, it's just you and me here, Xiao Rui won't hide it, it's really awkward to do that surface effort." To tell the truth, this money was provided privately, but it was reported to His Majesty, and His Majesty agreed. Middle...... The court was not informed. ”

What???

This, this......

"Master Hou, do you provide it privately? How can this be? ”

Xiao Rui said proudly: "How can't you?" The entire imperial court, except for Your Majesty, I, Xiao Rui, will not accept anyone! My affairs, my money, who dares to take care of the court? Rest assured that you can keep it. Of course, if you want to say that it was given by Your Majesty, I don't want to cause trouble for myself. ”

Feng Ang was stunned, he really saw it, it was better to meet than to be famous: What is wealth? It's called being rich!

"I've heard for a long time that Hou Ye is rich and rivals the country, but I thought it was an exaggeration, but today I can be regarded as insightful. But what Feng admired the most was the courage of the Hou Ye, Chang'an was thousands of miles away, the mountain roads were rugged, the waterways were long, the insects and forests were miasma, and thieves were rampant. In the whole world, except for Hou Ye, no one can match! ”

Xiao Rui waved his hand briskly and said, "Hey, it's nothing." If it weren't for the bandits along the way, we really wouldn't have been able to transport this batch of silver. You must know that when I set out from Chang'an, there were only three people and a carriage, and I almost didn't bring a tael of silver. ”

"However, the further south you go, the more bandits are more and more rampant, and it is the responsibility of the imperial court outside Lingnan, but it is the responsibility of Geng Guogong within Lingnan."

Feng An's old face flushed, "Ahem, Lingnan is remote and poor, the jungle miasma is difficult to walk, and it is very difficult to suppress bandits, so Lingnan has mainly developed on the sea in recent years, and the road has indeed been lax." ”

"Wait...... What Hou Ye seemed to say just now was that you didn't carry a tael of silver when you set off? What about the 300,000 taels? Oh...... I understand, I have long heard that the Xiao Family Chamber of Commerce has opened all over Datang, presumably to reduce the transportation links and mobilize directly from the nearest Chamber of Commerce. ”

Assemble?

Xiao Rui shook his head and said: "No, no, the Xiao Family Chamber of Commerce is mainly on the Silk Road in Chang'an and the Western Regions, and there is not much business in the south." Only then did he go south, except for entering the city to eat and live, he did not call the Chamber of Commerce. ”

How so? Then where did you get your 300,000 taels of silver?

Feng Ang was completely confused.

Xiao Rui looked innocent, "I just said, if there were no bandits along the way, where would these 300,000 taels of silver come from?" ”

Burst......

After making trouble for a long time, this, such a large amount of silver, all of which you earned from the bandits? I didn't hear it, did I? As you just said, you only have three people, and you have never brought a single soldier, where do you have the strength to suppress bandits? Feng Ang couldn't figure it out. So he asked bluntly.

Xiao Rui smiled, and said lightly: "Why do you need to lead troops to suppress bandits?" Ben Hou alone is an army of thousands of horses! ”

Burst......

I'm this, I'm ......

"Well, I believe it! You have the strength. ”

Xiao Rui said modestly: "But this is not my personal action, the main thing is to leave love, through the work of suppressing bandits, by the way, I will become proficient in the martial arts in my hands, go south, exterminate countless bandits and bandits, and my martial arts will also go to the next level." In contrast, these hundreds of thousands of dollars of silver have become an addition. ”

"Hehe, starting from Tanzhou City, we exterminated all the bandits in Tanzhou, and we only got less than 200,000 taels. After entering Lingnan, because the cart escorting gold and silver was too dazzling, the Lingnan people were very enthusiastic and contributed more than 100,000 yuan, so that there are now more than 300,000 yuan. In fact, we didn't count the specific number carefully, anyway, it was given to you, and you just need to report the number to the court after you finish counting. ”

Burst...... Feng Ang wanted to vomit blood. I knew that exterminating bandits and bandits made so much money, and Lao Tzu personally led troops to sweep the entire Lingnan.

"His majesty is not strict, and it disturbs the Hou Ye, Feng Ang's fault, I will order it to go down and crack down on the bandits and bandits in Lingnan." Feng Ang stood up and swore an apology.

Xiao Rui glanced at him with a strange look, "Geng Guogong, you don't want to follow us and use the bandits to make extra money, right?" ”

"Ahem, how could it be? Sincerely give Hou Ye an explanation. Feng An's face turned red.

Xiao Rui reminded with a smile: "Don't toss, two-thirds of the thieves in Lingnan are under our hands, and you won't have much oil and water to squeeze anymore." On the contrary, it will not be cost-effective to lose troops. ”

I'm ......

Seeing Feng An's embarrassment, Xiao Rui comforted and said: "Actually, there is no need for this, think about it, the two-thirds that were exterminated by me, didn't I already transport their silver?" It is equivalent to that you have completed the great cause of suppressing bandits without calling a single soldier, made a lot of money in vain, and made a fortune without standing still, is there a more cost-effective deal in the world? ”

Well, it seems to make sense!