A few days later, in the increasingly populous Anle City, a guard came to report: "Chang Shi, the chief shopkeeper of the Cui family in Qinghe is here, asking to see Chang Shi."
Xiao Rui was drawing some albums. Hearing this, he stopped what he was doing and said, "You came so quickly. It seems that this Anle City is very important to them. Please come in."
Not long after, a thin middle-aged man with a majestic face came in with a servant. The two parties greeted each other openly. Xiao Rui asked straight to the point: "Businesskeeper Cui, does he represent the Cui family of Qinghe, or Wu?" Is your surname Qiwang?"
He didn't ask if he represented the Anle Chamber of Commerce, because the Anle Chamber of Commerce was only useful in Anle City. Now Anle City was under his control, Xiao Rui, and he had the final say whether there was an Anle Chamber of Commerce.
The other party did not despise Xiao Rui like Cui Baiquan did before, but gave him enough respect, "Cui Bailing is the chief shopkeeper of the Cui family in Qinghe, but this time he was ordered to come here on behalf of the five surnames and Qiwang to ask for an explanation from Xiao Changshi. Even if you are the governor of Youzhou appointed by the imperial court, you cannot expel business people without reason."
Xiao Rui stretched out his hand and interrupted: "For this reason, you should not ask me. If I make mistakes in governance, it is the court officials who should come to hold me accountable. Take me as a long history, and the next county governor will come over, will you? I can’t control the eviction.”
Cui Bailing was stunned for a moment, and thought to himself, I have good intentions and am polite first, but you have such an attitude when we meet?
"Master Xiao, you are an official of the imperial court and His Majesty's favorite consort. We have no intention of fighting with you. The Cui family of Qinghe has never had any dispute with the Xiao family of Lanling. Can you tell me whether the matter of the Anle Chamber of Commerce is your intention or someone else's? the meaning of?"
other people? Couldn't you just talk to the emperor directly?
After pondering for a moment, Xiao Rui asked: "Your Excellency can be the chief shopkeeper of the Cui family in Qinghe. I wonder what your status is in the clan? Can your words be counted?"
What's the problem? Isn't this young prince-consort's question too outrageous?
"My father is the younger brother of the leader of the Cui clan in Qinghe, and is also an elder in our clan. I don't care about family affairs. I am only responsible for the business of the Cui clan in Qinghe and ensuring the livelihood of the clan."
Xiao Rui understood, "Oh... So, the people from the Anle Chamber of Commerce are your subordinates. At the same time, this time it was the big shopkeepers of several of your families who came together to discuss and then came to me? Haha, let me give you a face, Anle Chamber of Commerce. People can come back to operate, but the transactions must be supervised by the government, abide by my rules here, and I have the final say on pricing.”
Um? ?
"What do you mean, Mr. Xiao?"
"What? You don't understand? It's impossible to go back to the old days when the Chamber of Commerce dominated Anle's business. From now on, I have the final say in Anle's trade. If you want to come to Anle to do business, I welcome you. As long as you abide by the order, you can enjoy it. They are treated the same as ordinary people, and I treat them equally, and let bygones be bygones."
Cui Bailing argued: "But the trade here belongs to us!"
Xiao Rui clapped his hands and laughed: "I have obtained actual evidence here. In the past, some people in the Tang Dynasty purchased the enemy's leather goods at high prices and sold the Tang grain, salt, iron and other materials at low prices. They were purely subsidizing the enemy. Why don't you just give it to the enemy? Say it again? I am worried that I cannot find the culprit."
you you……
Cui Bailing was so angry that his beard trembled: "You, you are slanderous! I, the Cui family of Qinghe, have been operating in Anle City for hundreds of years, and have been rooted here since the Sui Dynasty... You are robbing me!"
Xiao Rui was even more surprised: "Hundreds of years? In the pre-Sui Dynasty? So you have been enemies for hundreds of years? In the pre-Sui Dynasty, the Turks oppressed the Tang Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty was attacked by the Turks. Are you, the Cui family of Qinghe, a part of this? Okay, Scribe, have you written it down?"
The clerk in the hall held up the problem in his hand and said, "Reporting to your lord, I have written down everything truthfully."
Cui Bailing almost vomited blood, "You, you... are behaving like this, how are you any different from a bandit? Xiao Rui, since you are so unreasonable, let's go and reason with His Majesty, and wait for someone from the court to deal with you."
Xiao Rui was not angry at all, but instead gave the other party a courtesy and said: "I will wait for you for a while. If you can't defeat me, why not try to abide by my rules. We are all people of the Tang Dynasty. I have no intention of targeting anyone. Tell your clan leader , if you want to talk to me about some military and national affairs, if you choose another person who has the final say next time, your weight will still be light."
Cui Bailing didn't seem to listen. In his opinion, Xiao Rui was a recipe for disaster, and he wouldn't be able to survive for a few days. The capabilities of Qi Wang of the Five Surnames are beyond what you, a young boy, can imagine. If you put any pressure on him, the emperor will have to give in.
Seeing the other party leave with anger, Xiao Rui curled his lips and whispered: "It takes almost two months to come back and forth, and there are two more opportunities to make money. Tsk tsk, it's good to be the city lord. Just count the money." Don’t come.”
Wei Yanran, who was accompanying him, joked: "Aren't we making money to buy war horses? In that case, why not barter? The Khitan clan wants food, cloth and other materials. After selling us furs, they also need to purchase goods from us." , As a result, counting silver and copper coins will only waste time."
Xiao Rui picked up Wei Yanran and spun him around several times, "What a great idea! Yan'er, you are truly my good wife. In the future, you will be the second richest person in the Tang Dynasty."
"Second richest? Why not first?"
At this time, Li Shengnan happened to walk in. When he saw this scene, he couldn't help but cursed: "Because he is the richest person, and you are just counting money for him."
Xiao Rui burst out laughing, "Shengnan, listening to this tone, are you jealous? Come on, let me hug you too."
"Bah! Don't be ashamed! I have business with you. There is something wrong with the horses sent by the Khitan. You'd better come with me to have a look."
"Is there a problem? What, he dares to do something? Haha, then I can immediately cut off his food and business routes, let them eat mutton all the time, and the fat will kill them."
"Hee hee, brother Rui, you are talking nonsense, they will not sit still and wait for death." Wei Yanran laughed playfully.
Li Shengnan rolled his eyes and said, "They don't want to start a fight with us unless they have to. There's nothing wrong with the horses, but they are all old and weak horses. They can be used for transportation and farming, but not war horses. Look at the expression of the Khitan tribe leader, It seems a little difficult, maybe because of some pressure."
Xiao Rui understood, "You mean, the Turks are threatening them and not letting them sell good horses? I'm just saying, when drinking in a restaurant, the Khitan's Da Hemo will look like a very honest person, not like a heart-to-heart Different.”
Li Shengnan nodded: "He knew he was at fault, so he offered to hold a drink at Zuixian Tower to apologize. That's why I came to you to ask if he would go?"
"Go, why don't you go? It's just lunch time. How will you know what the problem is if you don't go? This is our first war horse supplier."
Xiao Rui took the two ladies and took a carriage to Zuixian Tower. Da Hemohui, the leader of the Khitan tribe, paced back and forth restlessly at the door. When he saw Xiao Rui getting out of the car, he hurriedly came up to greet him.
"Lao He, you are not funny enough. What you say at the wine table is like farts. Where are the hundred good horses that we promised? Are you just fooling me with rags? Then who, shopkeeper Shen, is going to find someone to hang up a sign in Zuixian Tower. From now on, If Zuixian Tower doesn’t accept Da Hemo Hui, how can it be done without honesty?”
Da Hemo would break into a cold sweat and hurriedly persuaded him: "No, no, shopkeeper Shen, definitely don't. Mr. Xiao, it's all Lao He's fault. You must listen to my explanation. I will send all your money back. That batch of How about just giving it away as an apology?"
Xiao Rui had a look of disgust on his face and curled his lips: "If my wife hadn't interceded for you, you wouldn't have had the chance to have this sinful meal."
After saying that, everyone strode into the restaurant. Shen Fu had already made arrangements. Da Hemo would be grateful and would like to express his gratitude to Li Shengnan.
Li Shengnan almost couldn't hold back his secret, and cursed in his heart, Brother Rui is so bad, why bully a simple-minded Khitan barbarian? A few words can make someone hundreds of horses for nothing.
