Li Xianzhong and his party did not go directly to the city, but changed their clothes in a manor belonging to the Li family on the outskirts of Beijing.
In fact, Li Chengliang had already purchased many properties and fields near the capital in his early years.
Including Li Rubai, he actually stayed in the capital for a long time, which was one of the reasons why Tielingwei was no longer in the spotlight.
The imperial court was so afraid of the Li family in Liaodong that the Li family had to place themselves in the capital and appear within Wanli's control at any time.
Of course, it is normal for frontier generals with heavy troops in the past dynasties to strand their families in the capital as hostages.
This time Li Rubai repeatedly told himself to keep a low profile in the capital.
Li Xianzhong knew very well that whether the Li family could continue to occupy a place in Liaodong, his performance in Beijing was particularly important.
This is just like you passed the company's entrance exam with full marks in the written test, but if you dissatisfied the examiner during the interview; or your performance is too good, and even makes him think that you have posed a threat to him, then there is a high probability that you will Will not be assigned to a good position.
The reason why Li Xianzhong rushed to the capital so day and night was because he wanted to leave enough time to understand the situation in the capital.
Soon the steward of the manor told him what happened in Beijing these days.
When he heard that the Donglin Party "entered the palace to mourn", Li Xianzhong couldn't help but shook his head. It seemed that these people were really easy to change and their nature was hard to change.
But when he heard Liu Yijing being called the "coffin-crash attendant", he began to frown.
The Donglin Party members were actually given important positions in advance. Originally, he remembered that these people would not jump out until Wanli died.
Especially when Yuan Yingtai's name appeared in the position of Right Minister of the Ministry of War, he knew that something bad might happen.
Historically, Yuan Yingtai, who was elected by the Donglin Party members, succeeded Xiong Tingbi as the Liaodong manager. He lost Shenyang and Liaoyang within a few days, which directly wiped out Xiong Tingbi's previous efforts.
It is no exaggeration to say that this guy is not even as good as Yang Hao.
At the same time, he was also worried about Yang Hao. It seemed that the Donglin Party was going to confront Yang Hao this time and use him as a breakthrough point to attack the three parties of "Qi, Chu, and Zhejiang."
Unfortunately, I will probably become the target of their attacks.
Because their purpose is to change the coach in Liaodong, they will definitely do everything possible to discredit the achievements of Liaodong soldiers.
It seems that the situation is much more complicated than I expected. Originally, there were only two candidates for the Liaodong Economic Strategy. Either Yang Hao would stay in office or Xiong Tingbi would take over?
No matter who is in charge of Liaodong's manager, it will not endanger Ming's rule in Liaodong. He personally prefers Yang Hao to stay in office. Although Yang Hao's abilities are limited, he knows that he must rely on the Li family to stabilize the situation in Liaodong.
It should not affect your Liaodong layout.
Although Xiong Tingbi is more capable, he will not sit back and watch himself grow in Liaodong.
But now there is Yuan Yingtai. This kind of passionate scholar is the most terrifying, not as good as Yang Hao, who is greedy for life and afraid of death.
But it's useless to think about it now. He can't control the development of the court, and he can only take it one step at a time.
Li Xianzhong had taken off his military uniform and put on a fine mink fur coat. With his fair skin, he looked like a playboy.
Several soldiers also changed into the attire of ordinary servants, but they had a chilling aura that ordinary servants did not have.
His destination today is Dongcheng, where the Goulan Hutong is where official prostitutes gather, and the adjacent Yanyue Hutong is where the Jiaofangsi Band plays.
These alleys are the predecessors of the "Eight Hutongs" in later generations.
Brothels in the Ming Dynasty were generally called "goulan", which sounded more elegant than brothels.
In fact, most of the "brothels" in the capital at this time were government-run, and the Jiaofangsi was affiliated to the Ministry of Rites. Some of the teachers and madams might have been high-ranking officials.
Although these Goulanfang in the capital are not as good as the boats on the Qinhuai River in Jinling, they are still very lively.
It has to be said that the climate in Moxiao Glacier is beginning to show its power. Even though it is already the end of March, the nights in the capital are still so cold. The biting cold wind blew by, causing pedestrians on the road to speed up their pace, all complaining about the "late spring cold" this year.
Li Xianzhong, who is dressed in mink fur, naturally doesn't feel cold, but his outfit is too conspicuous on the street, causing passers-by to speculate about which family this young master belongs to?
At this time, the population near the capital of the Ming Dynasty was close to one million, and it was undoubtedly the largest metropolis in the world.
When the lanterns first came on, all kinds of red lanterns were already hung around Goulanfang, and the sound of silk and bamboo could be heard from inside.
The few soldiers behind Li Xianzhong had never seen this scene before, and they couldn't help it for a long time, and they all looked eager to try.
Finally they arrived at today's destination, a place called Mianyue Tower.
This place is actually a government-run brothel under the Jiaofang Division, but Li Xianzhong did not come here today to visit a brothel, it was arty.
He planned an auction carefully for himself.
Through the relationship between the Li family, he found Mianyue Tower, where a top-quality East Pearl will be auctioned today. In addition to winning the East Pearl, the buyer can also get the opportunity to be alone with Wu Xiaoxiao, the top star of Mianyue Tower.
Of course, Li Xianzhong also paid a high price for this. The booking fee is a full 1,000 taels of silver, plus a 20% auction commission.
To be honest, he has no interest in Wu Xiaoxiao at all. What he did was just to use the fame of Wu Xiaoxiao and Mingyue Tower to trigger the popularity of Dongzhu in the capital, so that the Dongzhu in his hand could be sold at a high price. .
Otherwise, if he sells such a large amount of Dongzhu at one time, even if someone is willing to buy it, the price will inevitably be continuously suppressed.
He is a person of later generations. Although he is not a marketing major, he is still very familiar with these marketing methods. He has learned a lot from reading and seeing so many novels and TV series.
The madam who received him didn't know that Li Xianzhong was the seller behind the scenes, but they were all good people. One look at Li Xianzhong's clothes and the servants behind him, and he knew that this man must be a son of an official who came to Beijing from other places, and was not an ordinary rich man.
In addition, Li Xianzhong generously rewarded her with a piece of silver and led the rich man directly to a table in the front row.
Li Xianzhong was surprised. He thought she would lead him to a private room on the second floor. It seemed that Wu Xiaoxiao was quite famous, and a rich man like himself could only be accommodated in the lobby.
But he soon felt relieved. This was the capital, and there were many dignitaries. Those people couldn't show up in public on such an occasion, so they must have booked private rooms long ago.
At this time, the onlookers around him were already talking about it.
"I heard that the Dongzhu today is of the highest quality!"
"Not to mention having this Eastern Pearl, just being alone with Miss Wu is worth a lot!"
The crowd's discussion made Li Xianzhong, who was originally worried about losing his blood, instantly feel confident. It seemed that he would definitely not be able to lose the thousand taels.
Soon under the attention of everyone, the Dongzhu, which was covered with red cloth, finally revealed its true appearance.
The old bustard said enthusiastically: "This is a top-quality Eastern pearl produced in Liaodong. It is huge and very round. It is completely white and has no impurities. It is a rare treasure. The starting price is 500 taels of silver."
Everyone saw a pearl, slightly smaller than an egg, emitting a gem-like brilliance under the light. Its luster is delicate and uniform, and each ray of light is integrated with the surface of the pearl. It seems to have its own life, constantly jumping and dancing, emitting endless light.
It gives people an incomparable sense of luxury and preciousness.
Although pearls of similar size are available on the market, such roundness and color are indeed rare.
Even these well-informed rich kids are eye-opening.
They began to bid one after another, and the price of the Dongzhu was quickly raised from 500 taels to 800 taels.
At this time, a fat man with a fat head and big ears shouted directly: "1,000 taels, today I, the fat man, will order this Dongzhu."
Everyone took a look and saw that this was Huang Weimin, a famous silk and satin merchant in the south of the Yangtze River. Due to his obesity, he was known as "Fat Man Huang". They did not expect that he would also appear here.
However, it is obvious that "Fat Yellow" did not scare these children from the capital. A small Jiangnan silk and satin merchant dared to make such a noise in the capital. He really didn't know how high the sky was.
Soon someone surpassed him, asking for 1,200 taels, 1,500 taels, and 1,800 taels. Several people kept raising prices with each other.
"Fat Huang" gritted his teeth and paid out 3,000 taels.
At this time, Fatty Huang showed a proud expression, and the subtext seemed to say: I am willful when I am rich, what can you do to me?
However, he did not feel proud for long. Soon a voice came from the private room on the second floor: "Five thousand taels!"
Everyone looked for fame and stopped making noise. For a while, no one dared to bid again!
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