The road to Wangcheng was calm, but considering Huang Yuan's identity, Shi Cheng still asked his two companions to keep their eyes open on the road, and always be vigilant against the wind and grass around him.

However, in the end, Shi Cheng and the three of them still arrived outside the Western Desert King City safely, and the people in the caravan did not secretly attack them, and the killer of the blood crow did not reappear.

Wu Neng stretched his waist and said while yawning comfortably: "I have never been so comfortable to cross the road, although it is slower, but if I change to an ordinary carriage, I don't know what it will be like to be uncomfortable in these eight days." ”

"yes." Shi Cheng nodded, then gently pushed open the window, "But why is it so noisy outside?" ”

"After all, I'm about to arrive at the royal city of the Western Desert Kingdom." Wu Neng said disapprerovingly, "It's normal for there to be a lot of pedestrians on the road. ”

"It's not that simple, just stand on the side of the window and look out." Shi Cheng moved his body back and motioned for Wu Neng to stand up.

Wu Neng was a little puzzled, but still stood up. He poked his head out of the window, and then heard his surprised voice coming from the window, "I'll go!" There are too many of them. ”

Iron Mask's gaze also turned over, and he saw that on the other side of the caravan guards, pedestrians in a hurry were rubbing shoulders, and most of them were tired homeless people, and there were also many Jianghu tourists among them. There were a few people in the same costume who were pinching their noses around some of the carriages, looking like disciples of the same sect, who were impatiently beating and scolding and driving away the nearby homeless. The homeless people hugged their heads and scattered in the screams, and a few who wanted to resist were knocked to the ground by those Jianghu guests with three punches and two kicks, and there was a burst of laughter among the onlookers.

Shi Cheng stared at the lively scene on the road, and after a long time, he suddenly sighed softly and said to his two companions: "When you get to the royal city, you will know why so many people are crowded into the suburbs of the city today. ”

The convoy continued to move slowly, but did not enter the royal city directly, but outside a post house on the west side of the city.

After the convoy stopped, Shi Cheng and the three got out of the car in turn, and when they saw that the convoy did not enter the city gate, they all felt a little strange for a while.

The tall servant on the side was very good at observing words and feelings, and quickly explained: "Three gentlemen, it's not early now, and there are a lot of people entering the city today. There are still a few officials, outsiders, and heads of men waiting to enter the city in front of us. So please stay here in the west of the city, and we can enter the city tomorrow. ”

"Chengxi Station?" Shi Cheng chewed on the word and asked suspiciously, "Are we staying in the post house tonight?" Isn't the post house a place for officials or messengers who enter Beijing to live, and can those of us who do not have official or military status live in it? ”

The tall servant looked at Shi Cheng a little strangely and said, "Why did Mr. say this?" This is not a long time ago, and now how can there be anything that outsiders can't buy with money? As long as you keep a low profile, no one will talk about anything. ”

Wu Neng looked at the post house in the distance and asked the tall servant, "Can this west post house accommodate many of us?" ”

"Naturally, no." The tall servant smiled, "Only the guests of the upper class carriage can live here, and the other guests will be arranged in the nearby inn, and we can't take up too many rooms in the inn." At this point, he looked around and then whispered, "Otherwise, the officials of the Imperial Observatory and the Academy will be unhappy." ”

"There are a lot of pedestrians on the outskirts of the city today, can your shopkeeper really book enough rooms?" Shi Cheng asked.

"The shopkeepers of other families may not dare to pack tickets, but our Camel Bell Chamber of Commerce must dare." The tall servant patted his chest and said, "Besides, most of the people who came to the outskirts of the city during this time were homeless, how many of those plops could afford to live in an inn?" That is, some heroes who rushed to see the first grandmaster of the Eastern Continent would compete with us caravans for empty rooms. ”

Shi Cheng, Wu Neng, and Tie Mian glanced at each other, and the hearts of the three of them all thought of a news they had heard in the restaurant in Yunqiu City—the first grandmaster of the Eastern Continent, the Yuanliu City Lord, was about to visit the Western Desert Country!

"So, has that Grandmaster already arrived in the Royal City?" Shi Cheng asked, while thinking in his heart how to meet the lord of a country, but in the end, Shi Cheng still threw away this unrealistic idea in his heart.

"It doesn't seem to have arrived yet, but that's been the last few days. Three gentlemen, let's go to the inn first, and I'll help you get your luggage in. ”

Shi Cheng nodded, and after saying "Youlao", he walked with Wu Neng and Tie Mian to the main entrance of the post house not far away.

Just two steps away, Shi Cheng suddenly turned his head and asked the tall servant with the luggage behind him, "Man, I have another question?" Were there so many displaced people on the outskirts of the Western Desert King City in the past? ”

"Not really." The guy also seemed to be a little puzzled, "It's also recently that there have been more displaced people in Gyeonggi recently, after all, this year's year is very poor, and it's not surprising that there are displaced people." But this is also my guess, we have been running around with the shopkeeper on the road during this time, and some things are not very clear. ”

Shi Cheng didn't ask any more questions, he already felt the unkind glances of the officials who were chatting in the small courtyard of the post house at him, and hurriedly quickened his pace and walked into the gate of the post house with his head down.

It was getting dark, and the guests settled down in the inn, and the guests in the upper carriages stayed quietly in their rooms. Of course, in addition to Shi Cheng and the three of them, those big businessmen would not let go of this opportunity to deal with each other, and the corridor outside the door was full of the voices of servants running around, sending names and gifts to the rooms that went up one by one. Some businessmen who have relatives who are officials in their families will even attach a new poem written by their relatives to the gift to borrow flowers to offer their gods. The officials living in the inn did not even have any objection to these uninvited guests, and many officials even prepared gifts for the givers to express their gratitude.

Dinner, tea and snacks were delivered in food boxes. After Shi Cheng, Wu Neng and Tie Mian had a full meal, they went to the bathroom in the room to bathe together and wash off the dust.

In the mist, Wu Neng leaned comfortably against the wall of the barrel, he squinted at the person in the other barrel, and said lazily: "Lao Tie, I sometimes really wonder if the bones on your body are all straight up and straight down. This bath is one of the most pleasant things in life, how do you get it like listening to a lecture from a gentleman in Mengxue? ”

Shi Cheng turned his head sideways and glanced at Tie Mian, and he also smiled dumbly. He closed his eyes, and just as he was about to close them, a very small sound came from the wall behind him. Shi Chengning listened carefully, and he quickly recognized that it was the sound of two men talking.

An old voice first sighed, and then said: "The old man has been away from the royal city for fourteen years, and when he returned to Beijing today, he did not expect that the state government had been corrupted to this point. ”

The other voice was the voice of a middle-aged man. "Wen Yuanbo has lived outside the temple for a long time, but he has not forgotten state affairs day and night, and he is really a model for us. However, at the moment, the world is peaceful, and the Gyeonggi displaced people are just a temporary illness. Now the king has temporarily resided in the side hall, and ordered the reduction of the palace consumption. The decree of amnesty has been drawn up, and it will surely move the heavens. ”

"Wen Yuanbo Li Zhong?!" Shi Cheng was shocked in his heart, "The world is so small, I didn't expect to meet this famous scholar in the Southern Wilderness in this city west post today." ”

Li Zhong was very displeased, and after snorting angrily, he said, "As a disciple of the Holy Sect, how can you let go of such nonsense!" In ancient times, even the Holy Venerable had the teaching of 'respecting heaven and doing one's best'. Heaven is not benevolent, but it will not be moved, nor will it favor anyone! ”

The middle-aged man seemed a little embarrassed, and said while responding: "What Uncle Wen taught is that it is the juniors who have lost their words. ”

Li Zhong sighed, and his tone softened a little, "Yu Zhiying presented to the Holy Emperor the "Helping the People with Money" first, and the Hexi Party people added fuel to the fire. Now, from the eastern continent to the southern wilderness, there are rumors everywhere that various countries will start to use currency for grain relief. In the absence of a significant increase in taxes on the middle and upper families, if the excess large amount of money really flows into the people, it will only make the industry in the hands of the rich businessmen more and more valuable, and lead to the continuous rise of prices, and the difference between the real income and prices in the hands of the majority of ordinary people is only afraid that it will become higher and higher. ”

The middle-aged man said with a smile: ""Helping the People with Coins" is indeed quite controversial, but the king is still very cautious about this, otherwise the position of the lord of the East Mansion would have changed hands long ago at this time, and the king would not have ignored the opposition of the Taiwan Court to make He Xianggong change the law and continue to insist." ”

Li Zhong was silent for a while, and said: "He Xian has always been a lonely minister in the hearts of many people, never close to any party, and his upper position is also the efforts of people of insight in the country to ease the court, but at present, the party struggle is intensifying, if the Yushitai and the Academy are tired of He Xian in the future, the king and the east and west mansions may still make concessions." ”

Shi Cheng listened quietly, and after a while, there was the sound of pacing in the next room. Soon, Li Zhong's voice came again.

"Hopefully, the old man knows that you don't think so. But in any case, since the old man has been reinstated, he must fulfill the duties of a courtier. When facing the saint, the old man must explain to the king in person the place where the remnants of "Helping the People with Money" are located, and return the people to a safe life! ”

The official named Wangzhi didn't say much, he changed the topic, and after a few words with Li Zhong, he hurriedly took his leave.

Wu Neng and Tie Mian were far away from the wall, and neither of them heard this conversation. Shi Cheng also had no intention of talking to the two companions about the conversation he had heard, and now the most he was thinking about was his plan after entering the city. After the three of them finished bathing, they changed their clothes and went to bed separately to rest.

The bed in the upper room of the post house was very soft, but Shi Cheng couldn't sleep.

"If the article in the North Street Newspaper hadn't added fuel to the fire, the conflict between Dongdan and Ximo on the border would have intensified. I don't know what the future holds, but I'm in an awkward position right now. ”

"The power of the Lu clan in the Southern Wilderness is actually operating to the point where they can reach into the court of the Western Desert Kingdom, if I want to fight with them in the Western Desert King City, then I must allow myself to have a foothold in the Western Desert King City."

"Power, status, fame...... I really didn't expect that I, Shi Cheng, would have a day when I longed for these things......" Shi Cheng closed his eyes, and a bitter smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

After tossing and turning for a while, Shi Cheng's mind suddenly flashed.

"It's ridiculous, when I first arrived in Cloud Hill City, I also said that I didn't plan to hide my identity anymore. Now that I've been exposed, why not just make a big splash? Why do I have so many scruples just because I'm a foreigner? Shi Cheng's face finally relaxed, "I'm a silver medal Dan Master of the Pharmacist Chamber of Commerce, and there is a place in this world that I can't step into openly!" ”

Soon, Shi Cheng drew up a new plan in his mind.

……

The next morning, Wu Neng, who was still a little dazed, was dragged out of the bed by Shi Cheng.

Shi Cheng looked at Wu Neng, who was angry with a smile on his face, and said, "Old Wu, I have something to trouble you today." ”

After listening to Shi Cheng's commission, Wu Neng's eyes widened in surprise and asked, "Hire a team of coachmen and entourage?" According to the specifications of the inferior officials returning home? What are you going to do? ”

"You do it, in short, try to make the pomp and circumstance as big as possible, find people as professional as possible, and be sure to have the experience of doing things in a big family, because we also need the help of competent people after we settle down in Wangcheng. As for wages, I can pay everyone a half-pass in the first month, and then it depends on their ability. ”

"A half-pass treasure?!" Wu Neng looked at Shi Cheng with the eyes of the wronged man, "Then why don't we enter the city with the Camel Bell Chamber of Commerce today?" ”

"Since Huang Yuan is not in the city, there is no need for that, anyway, we have already arrived outside the royal city, and I have to say goodbye to the caravan keeper and Madame Hu in a while, and I have to prepare a new set of clothes for us. Today's time is limited, so we can only divide into two ways. ”

"But ......"

"Don't worry, it's a tight day." Seeing that Wu Neng still wanted to mumble, Shi Cheng stuffed a messenger and some money into Wu Neng's coat pocket and hurriedly pushed him out of the door, "If you encounter an accident, use this charm to contact me, the money I gave you will be used to pay the deposit, and the rest of the money after hiring someone is all yours, and I won't let you run in vain." ”