It can be said that Handerang is already a powerful 'regent' who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Brother Yelvxiu. He was such a person who could stir up trouble even by stomping his feet in the Liao Kingdom. He actually invited Yang Peng, a businessman of unknown origin, to dinner. When Shen Peng saw Yang Peng looking at him strangely, he explained with a smile: "City Lord, don't look at this old servant like that. The one who really invited you to dinner can't be Han Derang. In fact, the one who really invited you to dinner can't be Han Derang." , is the second son of the Han family. He just pretended to be Han Derang."
Yang Peng raised his eyebrows and said: "Second Young Master of Han Mansion, can you find a way for me to see my fourth brother?" Shen Peng coughed lightly and said in a low voice: "I heard that the Empress Dowager Xiao Zhuo of Liao Kingdom and Han Derang's relationship is unusual. Therefore, several princesses of the Liao royal family are also close to the two young masters of the Han family.
It is said that the Empress Dowager Xiao Zhuo of the Liao Kingdom has agreed to marry her eldest princess, the Princess of Jin, to Han Derang's eldest son. In short, the relationship between the Han family and the royal family is very close. If the second young master of the Han family is willing to help, it won't be difficult for you to see the fourth young master. Yang Peng waved the invitation in his hand and said with a chuckle: "So, I must meet this second young master of the Han family?" "
"We should meet." Shen Peng smiled implicitly. Yang Peng asked with a half-smile: "You put so much effort into recommending the Han family, I don't believe you didn't have any intentions in this..." The smile on Shen Peng's face stiffened, and he said awkwardly: "To be honest, our money Okay, although we have established a relationship with the Xiao family, it is not reliable. If we can establish a relationship with the Han family, then our business in the South will be as stable as Mount Tai in the Liao Kingdom.
Old servant, this is not really a plot, I just hope that the city lord can lend a hand and help us. "
"You, you!" Yang Peng pointed at Shen Peng dumbfounded, then threw the invitation in his hand to Shen Peng and cursed: "Go away and get ready." Hearing this, Shen Peng said ecstatically: "Old servant, go right now Prepare." Yang Peng could understand Shen Peng, but also knew that there was moisture in Shen Peng's words. He didn't believe that Qian Xing had no relationship with the Han family. If there was no relationship, why would the second son of the Han family invite him to dinner?
It can only be shown that the current contact between Nanguo Money Bank and the Han family is only at the weakest and superficial level, and is not reliable and stable. In fact, Shen Peng never talked to anyone with real status in the Han family. The aristocrats are always the most assertive group of people, and they always try every means to isolate them from ordinary people, and even use various means to set up a huge and insurmountable gap between the two as a foil. their identity.
The Han family finally managed to get into the top aristocratic circle of the Liao Kingdom, and naturally they were more confident about their status. Therefore, in the eyes of people with real status in the Han family, perhaps only the owner of Nanguo Money Bank is barely qualified to talk to them. After getting Yang Peng's permission, Shen Peng quickly contacted the people from the Han government, and the two parties jointly agreed on the banquet.
In fact, it was basically the people from the Han government who set the time, and Shen Peng had no room to refuse. He just patiently acted as a sounding board. The agreed time is two nights later. Shen Peng specially prepared a noble-looking outfit for Yang Peng, but Yang Peng rejected it.
Yang Peng simply put on a snow-white gown, tied a jade crown to tie his hair, held an ivory bone fan in his hand, put on a bearskin coat, and dared to go to the banquet.
The place for the banquet is Fanlou. Go to Fan Tower in Beijing. Compared with the Fan Tower in Bianjing City, the Fan Tower in Shangjing City is more exotic. Although the construction and decoration of the restaurant are imitations of the Fan Tower in Bianjing City, compared to the bookish atmosphere of the Fan Tower in Bianjing City, the Fan Tower in Shangjing City is full of copper smell.
You can't see the scene where there are scholars talking and laughing, but no white people coming and going. You can't see it in Fanlou in Shangjing City. As soon as you enter the Fan Tower in the capital city, you will see more of the aristocratic children of the Liao Kingdom, leading vicious dogs and riding eagles, fighting with each other. It seems that the outcome of the battle between two dogs is far more eye-catching than a moral article.
Occasionally, some people dressed in nondescript scholar attire linger among them. But the obscene words and words in their mouths are simply unbearable. Some things that were criticized as vulgar in the Song Dynasty seemed to be more popular among them.
"When I suddenly looked back, I saw that person in a dimly lit place... Do you know the circumstances under which Yang Pengren composed this poem?" "Under what circumstances?" "Hehehehe... you imagine, when you look back, you see someone There is a woman in a place where the lights flicker on and off. Tell me, what is this woman doing..."
"In Sichun..." "Peeping at men..." "Taking a bath..." "..."
When Yang Peng heard his plagiarized poems being explained in this way, his face turned terrifyingly dark. I wish I could turn around and leave. However, after turning around and meeting Shen Peng's pitiful eyes, he could only sigh and stepped into the Shangjing City Fan Tower. As soon as Yang Peng entered the door, the noisy Fan Building became much quieter. Yang Peng's dress and his temperament all show that he is a pure scholar.
In this capital city, there are not many pure scholars. After entering Shangjing, most scholars changed their ways and wore Liao clothes. They seemed to want to use this method to win the favor of the Liao nobles, so that they could get an official position. There were also some hard-nosed scholars, including the handsome ones, who were snatched away to the mansion by the tough women of the Liao Kingdom. The other part was forcefully brought into the government by the noble Liao nobles and became aides.
In short, the Liao people seemed to be full of unlimited desire to conquer the scholars of the Song Dynasty, and they did not distinguish between men and women. As for the Fan Tower in the capital, it is said to be a place where scholars stay, but in fact there are very few real scholars. Suddenly, a handsome and pure scholar appeared. All of a sudden, it was as if Tang Monk had entered the daughter country, which was eye-catching.
As Yang Peng entered the Fan Tower in Shangjing City, the noisy voices of the Liao people in the Fan Tower subconsciously became much lower. Many people looked at Yang Peng and whispered. Among them were some women who accompanied their brothers at home to have fun, and they did not hide the possessiveness in their eyes. Yang Peng was like a piece of fat, suddenly appearing in front of a group of evil wolves.
"What are you looking at? You can peep at the people invited by our Han Mansion." A woman in white suddenly appeared at the stairway leading to the second floor of Fan Tower. She looked at Liao Liao on the first floor with a cold face. The man scolded. Among those Liao people, some people obviously felt fear.
But there are also people who are filled with evil thoughts and have their heads lowered and their faces full of resentment. In short, no one from the Liao people present dared to face the power of the Han family. This shows that the Han family's position in the Liao Kingdom was at its peak. The woman in white scolded the Liao people present, bowed and saluted Yang Peng, "But Mr. Yi from Qianxing."
Yang Peng returned the salute, "Exactly." The woman in white made an invitation gesture, "Master Yi, please come upstairs. My young master has been waiting for you for a long time." Yang Peng was not polite, and accompanied by Shen Peng, followed Bai Yi all the way. The woman went up to the second floor. After passing the second floor, the woman in white did not stop, but continued upstairs with Yang Peng.
All the way up to the top of the fourth floor. The top floor of the fourth floor is not large, but the layout is exquisite, and it is full of elegance. The entire fourth floor has no private rooms and no separate tables. It looks more like a study room for one person. Directly south of the fourth floor, there is a wide open window. A man in Tsing Yi sits cross-legged in front of the window. A brazier is lit in front of him, and the fire in the brazier is burning.
Next to the man in green clothes, there is a short table, on which a small red clay stove is cooking hot water. Yang Peng caught a glimpse of a pillar embedded in the middle of the entire fourth floor and was slightly stunned. Immediately, led by the woman in white, they arrived at the man in green.
"Sir, the guests have arrived." The woman in white saluted beside the man in green and said softly. The man in green stood up, flicked his sleeves, raised his hands and saluted Yang Peng, "I, Han Qing." Yang Peng returned the salute, "Ryukyu is easy to travel."
It's just a pseudonym. As long as Yang Peng doesn't reveal his identity, whatever name he uses is secondary. The two people were sizing each other up while saluting each other. Han Qing gave Yang Peng the feeling that he was facing a scholar from Bianjing City.
He is gentle and elegant, with a noble temperament. Even though he is from a distinguished family, there is no arrogance in him. In Han Qingqing's eyes, Yang Peng, the owner of a Ryukyu money shop, did not have the stinky smell of copper in his fantasy, let alone a big belly. Instead, he was a scholar who was neither humble nor arrogant, and had a proud body.
At least, among the scholars Han Qing had met, there were very few who could be neither humble nor arrogant in front of him. Qing's first impression of Yang Peng was good. He made a gesture of invitation, "Brother Yi, please."
"Brother Han, please." After greeting each other, Yang Peng and Han Qing sat cross-legged opposite each other. Shen Peng and the woman in white were waiting at the side, waiting for summons at any time. Qing is cooking tea, and what is being cooked is still tea, not the tea soup that the scholar-bureaucrats of the Song Dynasty liked. A bowl of hot tea was cooked. Han Qing handed it to Yang Qi and asked with a smile: "Brother Yi is a businessman?"
Yang Peng picked up the tea, took a sip, raised his eyebrows, and was slightly surprised. The tea that Han Qing cooked was actually a kind of tea called Daohuaxiang produced in tea gardens in southern China. This kind of tea tree is planted not far from the rice fields. After the rice grows, when the wind blows, the rice flowers fall on the tea leaves one after another.
Under the influence of rice flowers, the tea leaves are naturally dyed with a hint of rice flower fragrance, hence the name. Yang Peng likes the fragrance of rice flowers the most. Since the tea produced in the Song Dynasty was fermented black tea, Yang Peng was not used to drinking it, so Yang Tong often prepared some rice flower fragrance for Yang Peng at home. Yang Peng didn't expect to meet someone with similar tastes to him in Liao Kingdom.
Yang Peng sipped tea carefully while answering Han Qing's question, "I'm not a businessman. I just happen to be a businessman. Essentially, I am still a scholar." Han Qing seemed very satisfied with Yang Qi. Answer, nodded, and asked: "Then, Brother Yi, from the perspective of a scholar, help me see which of the scrolls and classics collected in my room is the most valuable."
Yang Peng was stunned, shook his head and said with a smile: "You are questioning my identity as a scholar." Han Qing just smiled and did not speak. Yang Peng accepted the invitation and took a tour. After carefully observing Han Qing's collection, he sat down again and said with a smile: "Brother Han is really a collector. In your collection, there are many unique copies and famous calligraphy and paintings. The most valuable thing is Zhang Xu’s wild sketch.”
Han Qing said with a smile: "Brother Yi is wrong. Although Zhang Xu's wild grass is rare, there are many of them in the world, and there may not be anyone who can surpass him in the future. Therefore, Han believes that the most valuable among Han's collections It should be a poem, a word, and a painting by Yang Peng. Yang Peng can be said to be a genius. In just one year of studying essays, he has developed a wealth of knowledge, and his poetic talent is the best in the world.
In addition, the sketch painting school created by Yang Peng is its own. The original slim gold body is even more stylish. The most important thing is that Yang Pengren is only 21 years old.
We can only compare to such a person. Even if thousands of years pass, no one can surpass it. "Han Qing's admiring expression made Yang Peng feel a little embarrassed. Yang Peng really wanted to tell Han Qing to wait a few more years until he could strangle the young Su Laoquan to death and nip Su Shi in the bud. After that, it would not be too late for Han Qing to boast that no one could surpass him.
Of course, Yang Peng could only think about this, but couldn't say it out loud. Moreover, even if he really met the young Su Laoquan, he would not really do this. At most, Su Laoquan could be accepted as a registered disciple. Then let the future Su Shi and Su Da foodies live under his glory for the rest of their lives.
Return to the story. What Yang Peng didn't expect was that Han Qing was actually his fan. Yang Peng could only accompany Han Qing, brazenly bragging about himself together, and boasting himself to the sky.
When he first boasted about Yang Pengren, Han Qing felt like he had been given a shot of blood. Yang Peng tried hard to recall the poems he had copied, recited them, and praised each one.
He was immediately recognized by Han Qing. Han Qing almost made Yang Peng a confidant and talked about everything. The woman in white was listening with fascination. Shen Peng, who knew the inside story, rolled his eyes, twitched the corners of his mouth, and almost went crazy.
Han Qing and Yang Peng didn't bother chatting about Yang Peng. After the topic was brought up, the two of them also took the time to chat about business matters. "Brother Yi Xian, I heard that the Ryukyu Money Bank was established by the Ryukyu royal family, and the Ryukyu emperor's surname is Yi. Could it be that Brother Yi Xian is a member of the Ryukyu royal family?" When the two people were talking, they had known each other's age, and Yang Peng was older than Han. Qing is one year younger, so he is called his younger brother. Yang Peng shook his head and said with a smile: "Ryukyu Money Bank is just pretending to be in the hands of the Ryukyu royal family and is not an industry of Ryukyu. Although I have the same surname as the Ryukyu Emperor, Yi, we are not related by blood.
I am ashamed to say that when Your Majesty founded Ryukyu, my grandfather gave a lot of money to support Your Majesty. After the founding of the country, Your Majesty took pity on my grandfather's merits and gave me the royal surname Yi. In essence, our family is still our family, a pure merchant. The Ryukyu Imperial Family is the Ryukyu Imperial Family, but it is not the same family as us. "
Han Qing suddenly realized: "I see, I didn't expect that there is such a story in it. If I hadn't met Brother Yi Xian today, I wouldn't have understood the meaning of it."
The story told by Yang Peng was obviously told with Han Qing's pulse in mind. The Han family also faces the problem of giving a surname. Therefore, Han Qing felt sympathetic to what Ryukyu said.
"The royal family is noble. My good brother and grandfather were given a surname by the Emperor of the Southern Kingdom. It is also a blessing." These words sounded like a compliment to Yang Peng, but in fact they didn't mean to comfort himself. Changing the surname to Yelu may bring the Han family's wealth to a higher level.
However, Han Qing, who had admired Sinology since childhood, felt that this felt like betraying his ancestors. He actually didn't agree with the Han family's surname change. However, his father and the empress dowager were fighting fiercely, and he was the head of the family, so no one could stop him from his decision.
"Hey~" Han Qing let out a long sigh and simply stopped thinking about these troublesome things. He said to Yang Peng: "Brother Yi Xian, I invite you to come here for the banquet today mainly for two reasons.
Someone in our clan is interested in the financial strength of your Ryukyu money bank, so he wants to get involved. But they are afraid of getting into unnecessary trouble. So after I learned that you, the owner of the money bank, had arrived in Shangjing City, I was sent out to investigate the details of the money bank. Han Qing paused and said frankly: "I won't hide it from you as a brother. The people in the clan have decided that if you have a money background, they will choose to cooperate with you." If you have a shallow background, they will eat up the money bank alive. "
Yang Peng was stunned, and said with cupped hands: "Thank you, Brother Zhengqing, for informing me. Aren't you afraid of losing your teeth if you kill chickens for warmth?" Han Qing sighed: "As my father's power increases, they , has become more and more unscrupulous. Although I can talk to you, I can only tell you the truth, but I can't help you. "
Yang Peng said with a smile: "Brother Zhengqing can tell you frankly, I can't thank you enough. As for the noble clansmen, they want to swallow up my Ryukyu money bank. It's too much. The Liao Kingdom is currently suffering from internal and external troubles, and the internal political situation is unstable. Stable, there are powerful enemies like the Song Dynasty waiting around outside, and the recently rising Fuxing Guan Yang family is also included. If we provoke our Ryukyus again, aren't we afraid of causing the disaster of national destruction?"
Han Qing hesitated and said: "They believe that Ryukyu is far away from Liao and not enough to pose a threat." Yang Peng shook his head and smiled: "Ryukyu is far away from Liao, but it is not without the power to intervene in the war. First of all, Ryukyu is far away from Liao. Not to mention that we, Ryukyu, have countless ships, and they can transport our elite soldiers from Ryukyu at any time. Just talking about the relationship between Song and Liao Dynasties, the most important thing we, Ryukyu, are short of is money and food. If we, Ryukyu, are willing to provide 30 million dans of grain to support the Song Dynasty's expedition Liao, what do you think the Liao country’s chances of winning are?”
Han Qing frowned and said in a deep voice, "My father and the troops under the command of King Nanyuan are invincible."
"No, no, no..." Yang Peng waved his hand and said with a smile: "Once a war breaks out between Song and Liao, it will be an earth-shattering battle. The number of troops will quickly increase to hundreds of thousands, and the combined forces of both sides may even exceed one million.
In addition, the number of civilian husbands, servants, etc. will reach several million. In this case, the nature of war will change. What started as a war between armies has evolved into a drain on national power. Whoever's national strength is weak will be defeated. This is an indisputable fact.
If Ryukyu can continue to provide food support to the Song Dynasty, the combined strength of our two countries will be enough to consume your Liao Kingdom. Therefore, under the current situation, offending Ryukyu is inviting trouble for your Liao Kingdom. Moreover, I believe that Ryukyu and Liao should not become enemies, but should become friends.
What do you think? "Han Qing is a pure scholar. Although he has an father who is the privy envoy of the South Academy, he has little involvement in war. His understanding of war also stays at the most basic combat effectiveness and military strength.
Completely unaware of the importance of national power to war. Han Qing was dumbfounded after what Yang Peng said. He pretended to be calm and said: "Brother Yi Xian is really knowledgeable. Even in the art of war, he is so involved. I feel ashamed to be my brother.
The brotherhood will tell the clansmen these things. As for how they decide, that's up to them. Whether it's a blessing or a curse, it's something they brought upon themselves and has nothing to do with Brother Wei, who is just an errand boy. Yang Peng agreed with a smile: "Brother Zhengqing is still open-minded and straightforward, unlike me, who works hard all day." "
That's what he said, but Yang Peng didn't believe it in his heart. Han Qing, the second son of the Han family, was just an errand boy. Then again, even Han Qing is really an errand boy. So there are probably only two people in the entire Han family who can order the second son of the Han family to run errands. One is his awesome and coaxing father, and the other is his eldest brother who has been living here for a long time.
Either one of these two people can actually represent Han Qing. In other words, no matter what the story behind this is, it has nothing to do with Han Qing. The two of them were polite again before parting. Yang Peng pondered for a moment, and then said to Han Qing a little shyly: "Brother Han, I have a private matter that I would like to ask Brother Han. I wonder if Brother Han can make it easier."
"Private matters? Tell me." Yang Peng lowered his voice and whispered: "I heard that Princess Iron Mirror of your country is a rare beauty and a pearl on the grassland. I don't know what I can do I can’t be lucky enough to meet you…”
"Pfft~" Han Qing spat out the tea he just drank in his mouth and stared at Yang Peng in astonishment.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
