"Thank you, Mr. Zhou. Without your help these past two days, I wouldn't have known that this capital city would be so fun."
"These are my thoughts, please be my subordinates. From now on, you will be my forever friend."
In the attic of a brothel somewhere, Pi'er Ma Heima took out a leather bag and handed it to Mr. Zhou opposite.
Mr. Zhou was the businessman he asked for directions on the road before.
"Brother Ma Hei, you don't consider me a friend anymore. Could it be that I, Zhou, am befriending you because I want your money?"
"If you say that again, then I will be angry."
Mr. Zhou said righteously, his face full of disdain for Pi'er Ma Heima's actions.
Even his eyes were squinting at Pierma Heima.
Hearing this, Pi'erma Heima was extremely ashamed and said quickly: "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou. I apologize to you. This is not a financial transaction, but I don't have anything with me that can express my feelings."
"Only these gems are very popular here, so I thought of giving them to Mr. Zhou."
"Mr. Zhou, I have absolutely no intention of using money to measure our friendship."
When Mr. Zhou heard the word "gem", his brows were frivolous, and his tone changed and he said, "I must have blamed you wrongly. This is a difference in customs. In our Ming Dynasty, the most important thing is the friendship between gentlemen."
"As the saying goes, sending a feather from a thousand miles away means more affection than gift. In our Ming Dynasty, we never care about the value of the gift. It mainly depends on the intention."
"But these gems like yours are really useful to me. I'm preparing to create a batch of jewelry recently, and I need gems of different colors to embellish them. This is just right."
Mr. Zhou said nonsense.
Currently, he is still single, but this does not affect his understanding of the value of gems, especially the one in front of him is Pirma Heima, the grandson of Timur.
The gems given out must be of the highest quality and of great value.
At first I looked at the little skin bag, which was only about the size of a palm, and I thought it was some worthless thing.
Seeing this, Pi'er Ma Heima burst into laughter and said, "That's really good. I didn't expect that I would run into something like Mr. Zhou by mistake."
"I'm going to invite Mr. Zhou this time. Don't refuse."
After Pi'er Ma Heima finished speaking, he pushed the small leather bag on the desk in the direction of Mr. Zhou.
Mr. Zhou frowned and hid slightly, as if he didn't want to get dirty.
Just when Pi'er Ma Heima was a little confused when he saw this, he saw Mr. Zhou gently nodding, and the attendant who followed behind stepped forward to put the small leather bag away.
"Sorry, in our Ming Dynasty, especially the scholars in our Ming Dynasty, all regard money as dirt. This is a noble moral integrity, so we generally do not touch money with our own hands."
"Brother Ma Hei, please remember that this is very important in our Ming Dynasty. This is the etiquette of our Central Plains dynasty that has been passed down for thousands of years. There is no room for blasphemy."
Mr. Zhou explained slowly.
This special sense of ritual made Pirma Heima immediately in awe.
In Pi'erma Heima's opinion, the higher a noble is, the more things he pays attention to, and a person as fastidious as Mr. Zhou is indeed a great person.
The two days of getting along have made Pi'er Ma Heima feel that the Mr. Zhou in front of him was definitely second to none even in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
The most important thing is the huge personal connections.
In the past two days, Mr. Zhou took him to various high-end places, to those exquisite dishes, and to all kinds of enjoyments that he had never thought of before.
Let Pierma Heima feel that this is the real life.
Even as they were talking, there were young women beside them, playing the sounds of silk and bamboo, and the sounds of birds and birds and swallows could be heard all the time.
Music has no borders, and Pirma Heima, who already likes the music, understands it very well.
And he is best at drinking alcohol, and his drinking capacity is also very good.
But the wine that Mr. Zhou took him to drink was a fine wine that he had never experienced before. After just one sip, he was completely intoxicated.
Compared with the fine wine he drank now, he felt that what he drank before was just like horse urine.
What surprised Pierma Heima the most was that Mr. Zhou went in and out of these places every day but never paid a bill. However, the people in those places were very respectful to him.
It was Mr. Zhou who always ate and drank. No matter how thick-skinned he was, he was embarrassed, so he once wanted to pay with gold and silver.
Of course, in private, go to the waiter to pay the bill.
However, when the waiter heard that Pi'er Ma Heima wanted to pay the bill, he was frightened and knelt on the ground begging for mercy.
Pier Ma Heima was confused.
Later, the shopkeeper also came out to apologize and asked if there were any areas where the service was not done properly.
After this combination of punches, Pi'er Ma Heima was stunned.
Later, Mr. Zhou said lightly that there was a misunderstanding and that my friend did not understand the rules.
Then let the matter rest.
Pi'er Ma Heima asked Mr. Zhou for advice, and Mr. Zhou explained lightly that it was just a bit thin.
At this moment, the image of Mr. Zhou stood up in Pi'erma Heima's heart.
"Mr. Zhou, we have known each other for two days. At this time, I don't want to hide anything from you. In fact, I am the envoy of Samarkand, and"
Just when Pierma Heima was about to play the confession game, Mr. Zhou smiled softly and interrupted: "And you are also the legitimate grandson of Timur. Your Highness, what I said is right."
"This...Mr. Zhou, it turns out you already knew this." Pi'erma Heima said in surprise.
Mr. Zhou looked calm and said: "In this Ming capital, there is really nothing that can be hidden from me. The difference is that it depends on whether I want to know or not."
These words were said very indifferently, but anyone who listened could feel the arrogance in them.
And Pi'erma Heima was obviously shocked.
He never thought that when he stopped a random person on the streets of the capital, he would turn out to be such a person.
"Mr. Zhou, let me toast you."
"Drink together."
After putting down the wine glass, Pi'erma Heima asked mysteriously: "I wonder if Mr. Zhou has any familiar friends with the Ming royal family, I..."
I saw Mr. Zhou gently raising his hand, interrupting what Pi'erma Heima was about to say, and then waving his hand again. The attendants next to him and the woman playing all bowed and retreated.
Then Mr. Zhou set his sights on the personal guards behind Pierma Heima, and the meaning was obvious.
Pirma Heima said a few words in Turkic. Although the guards hesitated, they still chose to leave.
Mr. Zhou and Pierma Heima were the only two people left in the room.
At this time, Mr. Zhou said slowly: "I am a very straightforward person. Making friends depends entirely on fate. But since I have made you a friend, if there is anything I can do to help, I am naturally obligated."
"Tell me, what exactly does Brother Mahei want to know? But the ugly words come first. There are some things that even I cannot talk nonsense about."
Mr. Zhou's words not only expressed his familiarity with the royal family, but also pointed out the strict rules of the royal family. No matter what Pi'er Ma Heima asked, he would be able to move forward and retreat freely.
Seeing that Mr. Zhou's face became serious, Pi'erma Heima also knew that it was a matter of great taboo regarding the Ming Dynasty royal family, so he quickly explained:
"Mr. Zhou, please don't get me wrong. I have always respected the royal family of the Ming Dynasty. However, this is my first time coming to the Ming Dynasty. I don't know anything about the situation of the royal family except His Majesty the Emperor, who knows the Ming Dynasty."
"That's why I want to ask Mr. Zhou about the current situation of the Ming Dynasty royal family."
Hearing this, Mr. Zhou had a clue in his mind. He subconsciously looked around, and then whispered: "Brother Ma Hei, have you heard about Xiaoling?"
"In the past two days, Zhou Bingyan has made any progress."
Zhu Ying, who was reading the laws of the Ming Dynasty, casually asked Ye Yueqing next to him.
Ye Yueqing smiled and replied: "Mr. Zhou is now Pierma Heima's best brother. The two of them already live and eat together. I think Pierma Heima must have completely cleared up any doubts about Mr. Zhou."
Zhu Ying nodded and said: "These two guys have spent a lot of money on me in the past few days. If it weren't for their own property, I'm afraid it would be really hard to bear."
"But for a big fish like Pierma Heima, everything is worth it. With Pierma Heima opening the way, our trade routes under Timur's rule will definitely be opened quickly."
"Zhou Bingyan is quite good. He is a leader in terms of being able to speak eloquently. Moreover, he has good looks and can easily gain trust. It depends on whether he can maintain this relationship in the future."
As Zhu Ying's thirty-seventh disciple, Zhou Bingyan had already conveyed Zhu Ying's order when he first came into contact with Pi'erma Heima and took him to Ping'an Teahouse.
The purpose is to let Zhou Bingyan create a special character image. For someone like Pierma Heima, he must take a long-term route.
The beginning of all this was very similar to the original Li Chenggui.
It's just that Zhu Ying didn't have much impression of the Timur Empire, but this did not prevent Zhu Ying from making plans in advance.
And Pi'er, Ma, and Heima are Zhu Ying's chosen chess pieces.
Qunying Chamber of Commerce is currently in the capital, so naturally it has long been more than just a safe restaurant.
As early as Zhu Ying took control of Jinyiwei, a large number of industries began to flow into the hands of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce.
With the help of Jin Yiwei, are there any merchants in the capital city who can compete with the Qunying Chamber of Commerce for business?
If you really can't do it, it's normal to use some means. Zhu Ying doesn't need to care about these basic operations personally.
If it couldn't handle these things well, the Qunying Chamber of Commerce would have stepped down long ago.
But for now, the main focus of Qunying Chamber of Commerce's actions in the capital is in high-end industries.
Zhu Ying, who has memories of past lives, will follow a few ideas to guide the market trend, and don't be too simplistic.
However, Zhu Ying is still very conscientious and never cheats the poor people. The targets he targets are mostly landlords and gentry.
A simple threshold established by the club can keep out all those with insufficient wealth.
Then there was a casual rumor that a certain big shot was standing behind the club, and people immediately flocked to join.
This income is currently Zhu Ying's largest source of income.
Zhu Yuanzhang was jealous when he saw the treasure banknotes that were entered into his account every day.
One time, Zhu Yuanzhang was interested and checked the accounts of his eldest son, and found that it felt as if the treasure banknotes had been printed by the banknote collection department and then flowed directly to his eldest grandson.
Under this circumstance, the main source of funding for the Gunpowder Department is basically from Zhu Ying's own pocket.
But now the amount of money has long become a number for Zhu Ying.
"When does His Highness plan to meet with Pi'erma Heima?" Ye Yueqing couldn't help but ask.
According to the usual routine, it was natural to create a coincidence first, meet each other under unknown identities, then become friends, and finally be shocked in the Ming Palace.
These methods are all left in Zhu Ying's Qunying Chamber of Commerce.
Otherwise, the Qunying Chamber of Commerce would not be able to grow so fast even if it had sharp weapons like Snowflake Salt.
Some small tricks that are not on the table are definitely indispensable.
Zhu Ying pondered slightly and said, "Let Zhou Bingyan first find out Pierma Heima's character thoroughly, as well as some of his thoughts."
"I'll see if I need to meet him in person at that time."
"Although Timur is powerful, Ming Dynasty and I don't need to be afraid. We are so far apart. No matter how ambitious Timur is to Ming Dynasty, he can only become a vassal now."
"In a few years, when he gets stronger and wants to do something, I'm afraid it will be too late for him."
Zhuying's tone was very confident.
As of now, the Ming Dynasty, not to mention ten years from now, will be developing at a rapid pace even in the next five years.
Five years was enough for crops such as sweet potatoes to be completely popular throughout the Ming Dynasty.
And to a certain extent, after solving the problem of food for the people of Ming Dynasty, the policy of sharing every acre of land will naturally stimulate a surge in population.
In many other aspects, especially for military training, the invention and production of firearms.
Zhu Ying is fully confident.
If Timur doesn't come, if he still wants to come, even if he doesn't die suddenly on the road, he must be allowed to leave in despair without any benefit.
Besides, I don’t know who will take action first at that time.
After more than half a month, Zhu Ying's previous arrangements for Yao Guangxiao have begun to spread among most forces and nobles, centered on Goryeo.
The threshold of ten thousand shi of grain may not seem like much, but at this juncture, it is really not something that ordinary forces can do if they really invest so much grain.
For example, 80% of the nobles on the grasslands and deserts do not have this strength.
They may have very strong subordinates, but the problem of food has never been solved.
Only the truly great nobles would ignore the life and death of their subordinates and engage in such speculative business.
In the eyes of these great nobles, the reputation of the Qunying Chamber of Commerce, guaranteed by Snowflake Salt, is still very reliable.
Anyone with this strength basically chooses to invest.
Because they believe that the Qunying Chamber of Commerce can bring them several times, or even ten times more benefits.
. Lewen
