"Before, the entire Jinghu South Road was suppressed by local nobles and the royal family, and the development of commerce and handicrafts was greatly restricted. Therefore, the potential was far from being realized. Now that the constraints on merchants have finally been lifted, it is conceivable that in the near future, , the entire Jinghu South Road will become more prosperous due to the development of industry and commerce!" Cao Hu said excitedly, as if he had seen the prosperous scene in the near future.
Yang Peng nodded with a smile and said: "Confucianism says that 'businessmen are only interested in profit'. In fact, they themselves are not the same, and they are even worse. They try to use the commanding heights of morality and the power to control the country to control their interests. Compared with businessmen, , Confucian officials are even more despicable, but this is the difference between real villains and hypocrites; Confucians also talk about "strange and obscene skills". In fact, without technological progress, humans would still have to live in caves and pierce tree bark. What they say makes no sense. When it reaches you, you have to be naked!" He turned to look at Cao Hu and said jokingly: "What would it be like if Master Kong was naked and preached the truth?" Cao Hu couldn't help laughing, Then he realized something was wrong and quickly stopped laughing.
Yang Peng said: "Technology is the foundation of social development, and commerce is the means of social prosperity. Both are vital to the country. I really don't understand why the Confucian bunch want to belittle and suppress them! It seems that Confucianism is trying to control all aspects of society. If the country is castrated, such a bastard idea can only help the rulers to fool the people! Other than that, it is useless!"
Although Cao Hu was born as a Confucian scholar, Cao Hu has never been a person who studies and believes in books. As early as when he was still a Confucian scholar, he actually had doubts about some statements in Confucian classics. Now he has surrendered. Although Yan Yun has not been around for a long time, Yan Yun's new ideas and unfettered atmosphere have had a huge impact on his mind and soul, causing his whole person to undergo earth-shaking changes. Therefore, Yang Peng With such remarks, he couldn't help but feel a sense of agreement in his heart. In the past, even if Cao Hu thought that what Yang Peng said had some truth, he would never agree with it.
Yang Peng smiled and said: "Old Master Kong and his gang are probably a country that can develop and survive as long as it has the kind of morality they think! This idea is quite interesting!"
Cao Hu glanced at Yang Peng and asked: "Don't King Yan plan to use Confucianism in the future? Just as King Yan said, Confucianism may be useless, but it is conducive to rulers ruling the people!"
Yang Peng looked at Cao Hu and asked without answering: "Are you worried about me using Confucianism, or do you want me to use it?"
Cao Hu showed a thoughtful look and said: "In the past, my subordinates would naturally hope that King Yan would use Confucianism. In fact, there is no reason. I just feel that this has been the case for thousands of years. This is of course the right way to govern the country. Naturally We must use this method to govern the country." He paused and frowned slightly, "But now that I think about it, in order for our people to have a better future, it seems that we must not use this method! The reason boils down to one sentence, Confucianism will make our nation lose its vitality! 'Flowing water does not rot the door hinges, but does not rot'. Only by maintaining vitality can a nation have a brighter future! On the contrary, it is like a pool of stagnant water, what future can it have?"
Yang Peng nodded and praised: "Well said! The biggest problem of Confucianism is the fear of change. All forces that may lead to change are dangerous in their view. Therefore, whether businessmen or soldiers, it must be carried out Suppressive, because these forces will lead to change! In fact, Confucianism was not meant to be slaves to the king at the beginning. They just had a fear of change and hoped that everything would remain the same. They believed that only change would be the best. Safe! This idea is the most wrong, but it is also what the king likes the most! If it remains unchanged, then it is natural for one family and one surname to rule the world!"
Cao Hu clasped his fists and said, "What King Yan said is absolutely true!" Yang Peng said teasingly: "So if we in China want to truly rise and get better and better, we have to abandon those so-called 'traditional virtues'! "Cao Hu couldn't help but laugh. Thinking of the topic just now, he asked: "King Yan, you haven't answered your subordinate's question yet?"
Yang Peng smiled and said: "It seems that you are worried that I will re-enable Confucianism!" Cao Hu sighed and said, "I have to worry about this!" He glanced at Yang Peng, frowned and said, "I'm afraid this is because It is inevitable! If King Yan rules the world in the future, in order to maintain his rule, he will probably use Confucianism again!"
Yang Peng shook his head with a smile and glanced at Cao Hu, "I'm very happy that you can say these things to me!" After a pause, he looked at the blue sky and white clouds in the distance with a look of longing, and said, "Actually, For me, the position of king is just a responsibility. I wish I could be relieved of this heavy burden! The clouds and wild cranes roam quietly among the mountains and rivers, with my lovely wife and children by my side. This is enough!" Cao Hu said with a smile: " This is probably impossible!"
Yang Peng smiled and looked at Wu Lin, "That's not necessarily true!" Cao Hu looked puzzled. Yang Peng said: "Actually, Confucianism cannot sustain the country forever. Before the emergence of Confucianism, there were eight hundred years of Xia Dynasty, eight hundred years of Shang Dynasty, and eight hundred years of Zhou Dynasty. But what about since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty only respected Confucianism? The two Han dynasties combined only lasted four hundred years, and the subsequent dynasties, even the powerful Tang Dynasty, did not last more than three hundred years. There were many short-lived dynasties that lasted only a few decades. This shows that Confucianism cannot maintain its power at all! Confucianism's self-castration may be able to make The internal rebellion has slowed down, but it can't resist the invasion of foreigners at all! For example, the Song Dynasty was first suppressed by the Khitan, and then was beaten to the Central Plains by the Xixia people! Confucianism castrated itself, but Become someone else's delicacy! Think about the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, any prince could defeat any foreign race at that time! Therefore, even if I have to live forever, I will never use Confucianism! Even if I want to defeat the generals Confucianism will never be used to deal with the country’s hidden worries! There are many ways, so why would you want to commit suicide with a sword?”
Cao Hu smiled and nodded, clasped his fists and said, "In this way, my subordinates can rest assured!" Yang Peng looked at Cao Hu with a smile. He originally wanted to express his founding philosophy, but in the end he stopped. Said something else. Yang Peng felt that this was not the time to speak out those ideas, and this was not the right place to speak about them.
Cao Hu said: "What King Yan just said about Confucianism and merchants is very correct. But merchants are after all profit-seeking! Those merchants with conscience are okay, but the vast majority of merchants are only profit-seeking, and they are afraid of deducting wages, hoarding, etc. Things will happen one after another, so I think we should make some legal and management preparations for these situations."
Yang Peng nodded and said: "I originally thought that these situations could be effectively controlled by relying on the constraints of the state-owned sector. However, according to some recent situations, it is far from enough to rely on the commercial methods of the state-owned sector." After looking at Cao Hu glanced at him and said, "Your proposal is very good! In fact, I have already considered this and plan to bring it up to discuss with everyone at this year's annual meeting!" He smiled and said, "Since you raised this matter, then I will It's up to you to make a detailed report and plan. When the annual meeting is held, you will propose it and submit it to the cabinet for discussion!" Cao Hu was very excited and clasped his fists and said, "I will live up to the entrustment of King Yan!" Yang Peng Smile slightly.
Yang Peng and his group continued to wander on the streets. Suddenly, Yang Peng saw a beautiful face looking at him with a smile. Yang Peng was stunned for a moment, and then he was overjoyed. He ran forward in three steps at a time, and naturally took her slender hand, saying softly: "When did you come?" It turned out that this great beauty was none other than someone else. It was Yang Peng's wife, Han Bing. She originally led the Ninth Army Corps all the way south along the east line of Jinghu South Road, but was blocked by Nanling. After receiving Yang Peng's order, she left the Ninth Army Corps where it was and left it alone. Then he led the Feifeng female guard back to Tanzhou.
Han Bing smiled sweetly and said: "I just arrived. I heard that my eldest brother is here for a private visit in disguise, so I came here." Yang Peng smiled and asked teasingly: "Do you miss your eldest brother?"
Han Bing nodded and looked at Yang Peng with his eyes. Yang Peng couldn't help but feel a thousand twists and turns, holding Han Bing's delicate hand and walking forward, smiling and saying: "It's rare that we have free time, let's have a good stroll!" Han Bing said with a smile: "Just do whatever the elder brother says!" Cao Hu and others The people followed from a distance, trying not to disturb King Yan and the princess as much as possible.
Yang Peng glanced at Han Bing and smiled: "Brother, I have been thinking about Han Bing every day these past few nights. I have been tossing and turning and can't sleep!" Han Bing blushed, then rolled his eyes at Yang Peng, and whispered: " You're a lustful guy, you're just lustful, you don't miss other people!" Yang Peng squeezed Han Bing's palm and said, "I should say it's both!" Han Bing chuckled, her beautiful eyes turning, "I knew it. " Yang Peng saw that Han Bing was showing off a charming temperament despite his strength, and his heart skipped a beat. He wanted to kiss her, but because he was in public, he had to hold back.
Han Bing and Yang Peng have been an old couple for a long time. As soon as they saw his eyes, they immediately knew what he was thinking. They couldn't help but blushed and said: "This is outside, we can just hold hands at most!" Yang Peng laughed. He nodded and said: "I know! When we go back later, let's take a bath together first, and then..." Even though Han Bing has a bold personality, he couldn't help but blush, stamped his feet, and said angrily: "Don't say it! This is On the street!" Han Bing's slightly angry and angry look was so charming that Yang Peng couldn't help but lose his mind.
When Han Bing saw Yang Peng looking at him infatuatedly, he couldn't help but feel happy and rolled his eyes at him. Yang Peng chuckled. The two continued walking. Han Bing said: "There are soldiers and horses guarding the key passes in Nanling. Cao Yong is indeed a rare talent. He was prepared for the worst outcome early in the morning. Although there are not many soldiers and horses guarding the key passes in Nanling, Nanling It is too dangerous, and the surrounding area is not as good as the Central Plains. The population is very sparse and the miasma is dense. It may not be easy to break through Nanling!" He glanced at Yang Peng and asked, "What are your plans for this, brother?"
Yang Peng said with a smile: "Don't be too anxious to dominate the world. First digest the Jinghu South Road and Jiangnan West Road. As for the final solution of Song Ting, I think we will wait until next year. First conquer the Guangdong and Guangxi in one fell swoop, and then go forward in two directions to kill the Eighth Prince. In When conquering Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhao Heng can still be used." Han Bing nodded and said: "We should fight slowly and steadily. If we are too aggressive, there may be problems!" After a pause, "Then these troops who entered Jiangnan will stay behind. Jiangnan?" Yang Peng nodded and said: "Maybe I will make some fine adjustments to the army layout, but generally it will not change."
Han Bing said with a smile: "Fortunately, the Khitans are fighting fiercely with the Japanese in Goryeo, which allows us to concentrate on dealing with the Song people." Then he frowned, "But from another perspective, we are being restrained by the Song people. So that the Khitans can recover Goryeo from the Japanese!"
Yang Peng smiled, "This is called mutual use!" Then he waved his hands and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore, let's have fun now!" Han Bing smiled sweetly.
Suddenly, a makeup shop appeared in front of the two of them. It was gorgeously decorated, and ladies and wealthy ladies came in and out. Yang Peng immediately became interested, pulled Han Bing's slender hand, pointed to the powder shop and said: "That powder shop seems to be very good, let's go in and have a look!" Han Bing couldn't help but become interested and clicked on it. nod. So Yang Peng and Han Bing walked into the powder shop hand in hand, while Cao Hu, Wang Kai and others stood guard at the door and did not go in. After all, King Yan and the princess went to the powder shop hand in hand. It was a couple's pleasure, and outsiders still wanted to do it. It's good to be interested enough to disturb.
The two walked into the powder shop and saw a dazzling array of rouge and gouache in various packages on the surrounding shelves. Many huge portraits were hung on the walls, including oiran dancers with heavy makeup and dignified and elegant wealthy ladies. On the left There is Xiaojia Biyu, and on the right there are ladies from everyone, some pure, some charming, all kinds of beauties, too beautiful to behold. Yang Peng immediately understood the role of these giant portraits, which were like the celebrity endorsement pictures hung in cosmetic stores in later generations, allowing everyone to see the beautiful effects of makeup, so as to arouse customers' desire to buy.
The lady who was originally shopping for rouge and gouache suddenly saw a man coming in, and their expressions changed with surprise. Then they showed annoyance and shyness and ran away as if they were running away. After a while, only Chen Xiao and Liang Hongyu were left in the entire rouge and gouache shop. Although Yan Yun is trying his best to get rid of the influence of Confucianism, Confucianism has ruled China for more than a thousand years, and it is impossible to get rid of this influence for a while. Among the people, the protection between men and women is still very strict, especially those with higher status. family.
Yang Peng touched his chin and laughed at Han Bing: "Am I a wolf? Why did I scare everyone away when I came?" Han Bing rolled his eyes at Yang Peng.
At this time, a pretty woman with heavy makeup came up to her. She glanced at Yang Peng with interest, and then praised her with a smile on her face: "Young Master, you are such a talented and beautiful woman!" Bing Yanran smiled, glanced at Yang Peng, and said to the woman: "We are husband and wife." The woman pursed her lips and smiled, glanced at Yang Peng, and said to the two of them with a smile: "I see it, I see it! You two! Holding hands, the lady’s face is full of happy smiles, they are certainly an enviable couple!”
Yang Peng said with a smile: "The boss lady is really good at talking."
The woman hurriedly said: "I am not the boss's wife! I am just the shopkeeper hired by this boss. Others call me Wu Niang!" While speaking, her eyes were looking at Yang Peng for a moment, and she was quite greedy when she saw the fishy look. . Yang Peng had been here for a long time. When he saw the female shopkeeper like this, he immediately knew that the female shopkeeper named Wuniang must be a romantic and dissolute woman. This kind of woman is like a lustful man who hunts men for pleasure. Chen Xiao didn't dare to look at her anymore. It was better to behave like a gentleman towards this kind of woman.
"Shopkeeper, do you have any good rouge and gouache here?" Han Bing asked, looking at the dazzling shelves, feeling dazzled.
Wu Niang smiled and said: "We have all kinds of rouges and gouache here, such as jasmine, rose, and peony. Of course, there are also perfumes from Persia and perfume from the Kingdom of Western Heaven!" Han Bing smiled and said: "You said so much, I don't know what kind to buy."
Wu Niang took a look at Han Bing and said: "Madam is extremely elegant, but she is dressed in men's clothing, which makes her look like a woman who is not inferior to men! Well, this kind of rouge will definitely suit Madam!" Then she turned around and walked to a shelf and took it. A small mahogany box was handed to Han Bing and said with a smile: "This is a high-quality rouge mixed with roses and hero flowers. It suits the temperament of the lady!" Han Bing took the wooden box, opened the lid, and a puff of The rich fragrance immediately hits your nose, it looks like a rose but not a rose, and people can't help but feel a wild smell! Han Bing immediately fell in love with the scent. When he saw that the box was full of pink powder, he also liked the color.
Han Bing asked Wu Niang: "How much does it cost?"
Wu Niang smiled and said: "It's not expensive, it only costs five taels of silver."
Han Bing was taken aback, frowned and said, "It's too expensive!" It turns out that a box of ordinary rouge and gouache costs only one penny, but this box of rouge actually costs five taels of silver. It can be said to be quite expensive! Wu Niang smiled and said: "Madam, I don't know that making this kind of rouge is very time-consuming and material-consuming. Just one small box like this will consume ten kilograms of roses and ten kilograms of hero flowers. It took the master two months to make it." It can be made! So the price is naturally not cheap!”
Yang Peng smiled and said: "Good things are not cheap, so we bought them." Han Bing turned around and gave Yang Peng a gentle look. Yang Peng took out a fifty-tael silver note and handed it to Wuniang. Wu Niang took it and saw that it was a fifty-tael note, and it was from Yanyun Bank, the most reputable bank. She couldn't help but feel happy. He quickly praised: "Madam, you are so lucky to marry such a good man!" Han Bing and Yang Peng looked at each other and smiled. Wu Niang was so envious that she quickly pointed to the innermost shelf and said, "There are all rare goods from Persia and the West. Madam, please take a look."
The two of them followed Wu Niang to the shelves, and saw that the shelves were filled with exotic goods. Han Bing looked at everything with interest, while Han Bing stood behind Han Bing.
Na Wu Niang took advantage of Han Bing's opportunity to look at the goods and came to Yang Peng's side. Yang Peng couldn't help but glance at her, and saw that her face was flushed and charming. Yang Peng was startled and even wanted to move away. Unexpectedly, at this moment, there was a sudden stinging pain in his buttocks. Yang Peng almost screamed and quickly avoided it, staring at Wu Niang angrily. Wu Niang pursed her lips and smiled, glanced at Yang Peng, then straightened out her astonishingly large breasts, and blew a kiss to Yang Peng, as if she was about to throw herself into his arms and let him pick her. Yang Peng shuddered, coughed twice quickly, turned to Liang Hongyu, who was looking at the rouge and gouache with great interest, and said: "Han Bing, it's getting late, we should go back!" Wuniang cast a resentful look at Yang Peng. eyes.
Naturally, Han Bing didn't see what happened behind her. When she heard her elder brother's words, she immediately turned around, holding a crystal bottle filled with light blue liquid in her hand, and said with interest: "Brother, this is the perfume of the Kingdom of God. It has a good fragrance." Special!" Yang Peng said with a smile: "This should be lavender perfume. If you like it, buy it!" Looking at Wuniang, he was surprised to find that Wuniang looked serious and completely lost the slutty look just now. , asked: "How much does this cost?" Wu Niang smiled and said: "These are the same as the ones Madam bought just now. They are the most expensive rouge and gouache. They cost five taels of silver." Chen Xiao said: "Okay, I bought them."
Han Bing said happily: "Thank you, brother!" Although these rouge and gouache are not valuable treasures, they were bought by his brother for him, so the meaning is extraordinary.
Yang Peng asked with a smile: "Is there anything else you want to buy?"
Han Bing looked at the surrounding shelves and shook his head: "No more." Yang Peng said: "How about buying a box of each item?" Han Bing shook his head and said: "No, I don't like the others." Yang Peng laughed. "Okay then." Then she said to Wuniang: "Shopkeeper, please change." Wuniang responded, ran behind the counter, quickly found four 10-tael silver notes, came back and handed them to Yang with both hands. Peng. Yang Peng reached out to take it, but felt that there was something hidden among the four banknotes. He couldn't help but feel slightly surprised and looked at Wuniang. Wuniang's eyes flashed with wantonness. Yang Peng's heart moved, he quickly looked away, grabbed the banknotes in his hand and put them into his arms.
Yang Peng and Han Bing left the powder shop. Yang Peng looked at the sky and said, "It's getting late. Let's go back." Han Bing nodded. The group of people walked towards the post house. Yang Peng said to Cao Hu: "Master Cao, you can go and do your own business. You don't have to accompany me." Cao Hu clasped his fists and said, "Then I will take my leave!" Yang Peng nodded. Cao Hu saluted Yang Peng and left.
As a group of people walked along the street, Yang Peng and Han Bing talked and laughed. Suddenly, Yang Peng saw a familiar face coming towards him. It was a beautiful woman. She also saw Yang Peng, with a look of surprise on her face. It was Zhou Bingqian who had been rescued by Yang Peng outside the city before.
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
