After a few days, Xiao Changle was completely out of danger, and Xiao Rui no longer took care of him personally. He just left it to Li Xueyan to arrange shifts every day. Xiao Rui was only responsible for changing dressings and cooking patient meals himself. The rest of the time can be used to communicate with people in Lingnan and take a look at the southern coastal scenery during the Tang Dynasty.
Feng Ang waited for half a month, and finally when Xiao Rui was finished, the first thing he did was to grab him for a secret chat.
"Master Marquis, you must make it clear that there will be nothing wrong with the imperial court giving Lingnan so much money all at once, right? If you have something to say, you can tell me directly. Although Lingnan Feng Ang is not talented, as long as it is for the imperial court's plan, we will never behind."
The implication is that if you don’t tell me your purpose first, I won’t dare to accept your money.
Xiao Rui really didn't expect that I would travel thousands of miles to give you money, why? Can't you send it out yet? Want me to pull it back again? Am I easy? A dozen carriages were crushed along the way!
"Mr. Geng, isn't it just a little money? Lingnan is also under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, and the border guards in Lingnan are also your Majesty's bodyguards. Your Majesty can't spare the time to visit, so you can only send some money to express your feelings and tell the soldiers that your Majesty has never forgotten you. .”
"Are you too worried? Or is this batch of money too small?"
few?
Feng Ang waved his hands quickly: "No, no, no, it's too much. The Marquis misunderstood. I heard General Fang say that this batch of silver is more than three hundred thousand taels. Not to mention the payment of salary, even if all of them are issued in double portions, it will be enough for Lingnan A year’s expenditure on troops and horses.”
"But as an official of the imperial court, Feng knew the laws and regulations of the imperial court. The local garrison was supported by local autonomy, and there was no rule for the imperial court to transfer it from the capital. The labor army you are talking about..."
"Let's put it this way, tell me the truth. If all the border guards and horses in the surrounding states have such a share, then Feng will not refuse. But if only Lingnan has this share, then we can't take it."
Xiao Rui was silent, not because he had nothing to say, but because he had not thought about what to say, or in other words, he was analyzing why Feng An was doing this? No matter what the purpose of the money given by the imperial court, is there anything Lingnan dare not ask for? The imperial court has sent people to Lingnan many times over the years, but all ended in failure. Lingnan is almost completely autonomous. Is there anything you dare not do?
Could it be that you are not used to the sudden sincerity towards Lingnan?
Yes, that's definitely the case. Anyone would think so.
Thinking of this, Xiao Rui decided to tell the truth. Feng An didn't trust the emperor, so he didn't believe that the emperor was so kind, so he had to tell the truth.
"Gong Guo, I would like to ask, is it possible that this money is too much, and Lingnan doesn't know how to spend it? If so, then I can help provide advice once, so that the court will definitely not find fault."
Hearing this, Feng Ang smiled.
From beginning to end, his purpose was not to really refuse, but to test the truth, that is, this money was definitely not given by the court. Feng Ang may not have understood the current emperor Li Er well enough, but he understood officialdom. Those ministers in the imperial court would never spend huge sums of money to help local labor forces, so the source of this money was fishy.
"Master Marquis, if I guess correctly, this money was not given by the imperial court, right?" Feng Ang looked at Xiao Rui jokingly.
Xiao Rui also smiled and asked: "Do you not trust the imperial court? Or do you not trust His Majesty?"
Well……
Feng An secretly scolded Xiao Rui for being insidious, wasn't this a trap for me?
"At that time, His Majesty was a man of great talent and strategy, and no one was dissatisfied with his civil and military skills, including his courage and courage. Feng An also greatly admired and admired him. How dare you doubt your Majesty?"
Li Er: I'm sorry to disappoint you! If Tanzhou wasn't too far away from Chang'an, and I couldn't control Xiao Rui's little monkey, I can guarantee that even one tael of these hundreds of thousands of taels of silver wouldn't reach Lingnan.
Xiao Rui laughed loudly and said: "Well, there are only you and me here, so Xiao Rui won't hide it anymore. It's really awkward to do it on the surface. To be honest, this money was provided by me personally, but to His Majesty reported it and agreed to it. In the meantime... the court was not informed."
What? ? ?
This this……
"Master Marquis, you provide it privately? How is this allowed?"
Xiao Rui said proudly: "Why not? In the entire court, except Your Majesty, I, Xiao Rui, will not obey anyone! Who in the court dares to take care of my affairs and my money? Just keep it. Of course, to the outside world, you must say that you are Your Majesty. Grant it, I don’t want to cause trouble for myself.”
Feng Ang was shocked. He had seen so much. Being famous is not as good as meeting him: What does it mean to be wealthy? This is called being wealthy!
"I have long heard that the Marquis is so rich that he can rival the country. I thought it was an exaggeration, but I have seen it today. But what Feng admires most is the courage of the Marquis. According to this, Chang'an is thousands of miles away, with rugged mountain roads, long waterways, There is a miasma in the insect forest and thieves are rampant, but you didn't even bring a single escort, and you only brought three people here. In the whole world, except for the Marquis, no one can compare with you!"
Xiao Rui waved his hand briskly and said: "Hey, it's nothing. If it weren't for the bandits running rampant along the way, we really wouldn't be able to transport this batch of money. You know, when I set off from Chang'an, there were only three people and one carriage, almost one person. I didn’t even bring any two pieces of silver with me.”
"However, the more bandits you go south, the more rampant they become. Outside Lingnan, it is the responsibility of the imperial court, but within Lingnan, it is your responsibility, Duke Geng."
Feng Ang blushed, "Ahem, Lingnan is remote and poor, the jungle is miasmatic and difficult to travel, and it is very difficult to suppress bandits. Therefore, Lingnan has mainly developed on the sea in recent years, and the road has really slacked off."
"Wait a minute... what the Marquis just said seemed to be that you didn't bring one tael of silver with you when you set out? What about these three hundred thousand taels? Oh... I understand. I have long heard that the Xiao Family Chamber of Commerce has opened all over the Tang Dynasty. It must be The transportation link is reduced and the goods are mobilized directly from the nearest chamber of commerce.”
Mobilize?
Xiao Rui shook his head and said: "No, no, the Xiao family chamber of commerce is mainly located in Chang'an and the Silk Road of the Western Regions, and there is not much business in the south. Only then did we go south. Apart from entering the city for food and accommodation, we did not call the chamber of commerce."
how come? Then where did you get your three hundred thousand taels of silver?
Feng Ang was completely confused.
Xiao Rui looked innocent, "As I said just now, if there weren't bandits running rampant along the way, where would these three hundred thousand taels of silver come from?"
puff……
After a long time of turmoil, this, such a large sum of money was all earned by you from suppressing bandits? Did I hear nothing wrong? You just said that you only have three people and have not led a single soldier. How can you have the strength to suppress the bandits? Feng Ang couldn't figure it out. So he asked bluntly.
Xiao Rui smiled and said calmly: "Why do you need to lead an army to suppress bandits? I alone can have thousands of troops!"
puff……
I, I...
"Okay, I believe it! You have the strength."
Xiao Rui said modestly: "But this is not something I personally took action. It was mainly because of my love. I used the time of suppressing bandits to practice my martial arts skills. I went south and wiped out countless bandits, and my martial arts skills also improved." Building. In comparison, these hundreds of thousands of dollars are just an extra expense."
"Haha, starting from Tanzhou City, we wiped out all the bandits in Tanzhou and only got less than 200,000 taels. When we entered Lingnan, because the carts escorting gold and silver were too dazzling, the Lingnan people were very enthusiastic and dedicated. We paid more than 100,000 yuan, so we now have more than 300,000 yuan. In fact, we didn’t count the exact number carefully. Anyway, it’s for you. You can just report the number to the court after you count it yourself.”
Poof... Feng An wanted to vomit blood. If I had known that killing bandits and bandits would make so much money, I would have personally led troops to sweep across the entire Lingnan.
"It's Feng An's fault that I disturbed the Marquis because of my lax conduct. I will order you to go down and severely attack the bandits in Lingnan." Feng An stood up and apologized swornly.
Xiao Rui gave a strange look and said, "Mr. Geng, you don't want to imitate us and make extra money by suppressing bandits, do you?"
"Ahem, how could it be? I sincerely give an explanation to the Marquis." Feng An's face turned red.
Xiao Rui reminded with a smile: "Don't bother, two-thirds of the bandits in Lingnan are in our hands, and you won't have much money to squeeze out if you continue to suppress them. On the contrary, it is not cost-effective to lose troops."
Here……
Seeing Feng Ang's embarrassment, Xiao Rui consoled him: "Actually, there is no need to do this. Think about it, haven't I already shipped the money for the two-thirds of those who were wiped out by me? It's equivalent to you not calling a With one strike, the great cause of suppressing bandits was completed, a large sum of money was made in vain, and you can make a fortune just by standing still. Is there a more cost-effective deal in the world than this?"
Okay, that seems to make sense!
