Speaking of this, Nangong Mei sighed deeply: "I'm afraid only those in the mountains know the true situation of the Fan family. In recent years, the Fan family has indeed gone farther and farther on the business road, and has become more and more wealthy. But the martial arts of the Fan family has actually declined. In the early days of the Fan family, there were indeed many elite disciples. At one time, it could even be said that there were as many masters as there were. But in recent years, the overly wealthy life has worn away most of the Fan family's children. His blood. Most of the Fan family’s children are no longer willing to practice martial arts even if they are forced to do so.”
"It is said that one is born in sorrow and dies in happiness. This is true at all. Many of the children of the Fan family today are not even willing to do business, let alone martial arts. They are running dogs, fighting cocks, eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, etc. From now on, most of the Fan family’s caravans are managed by children with foreign surnames. Over the years, the Fan family has selected orphans or children from poor families as disciples. Everyone says that the Fan family has a kind heart and is open-minded and willing to accept people with foreign surnames as disciples. . It is a great mercy. I can’t bear for those children to continue to be poor.”
"So I am willing to give them a hand and pull them out of poverty. But in fact, only the Fan family knows the real situation. If it were not for the disciples of the Fan family who were really struggling to survive, how would the entire Fan family be willing to do this? Taken advantage of? The Fan family spends a lot of effort every year to win over these people. Not counting the direct payment of money and silk, the annual dividends from the shares alone will be as high as several million dollars. Even in order to win over some capable people , but also find ways to marry him and recruit him as his son-in-law. Most of the girls from the Fan family will eventually marry such people. If the Fan family's own children can compete for a little bit of power, why would the Fan family bother so much? "
"My own children may not be reliable for profit, let alone those with other surnames. Although those children will all change their surnames to Fan after joining the Fan family, there are many white-eyed wolves. Every year, the interests of the Fan family are at least lost to these people. Embezzle 30%. But what can you do even if you know this? These people can protect the Fan family's caravan and can run the party on behalf of the Fan family. If these people are driven out, even the remaining 60% will be in danger. Just like the imperial court , knowing that there is no official and no corruption, but it is different and still has to be used?"
"As early as Fan Dao's great-grandfather's generation, the Fan family's martial arts has been deteriorating from generation to generation. Although Fan Dao is one of the very few of his generation who is addicted to martial arts, his talent is not high. Only three or four out of ten of the Fan family's martial arts masters have truly mastered it. As for the Fan sword, the rest of the disciples are even more unbearable. A magic pen scholar is no longer something the Fan family can handle. If the Ice Rakshasa never appears, he will take action again. , Even if the Fan family disciples are deployed in full force, facing the two of them, they can only hit an egg against a stone."
"Although the Fan family has declined in terms of martial arts. But the character of the Fan family cannot be lost, whether it is public or private, Fan Dao must be avenged. But the Fan family is so decadent in martial arts, facing Two peerless masters. Your Majesty, what do you think I should do? What can I do? Even if I don't agree with it, my father-in-law wants to fight to the death. But as Fan Dao's wife, what should I do? If I just acquiesce, how should I face my two children? How should I face the Fan family in the future?"
Looking at the haggard Nangong Mei, her eyes were a little red when she said these words. Huang Qiong couldn't help but sigh, but for a moment she didn't know what to do. To be honest, no matter how powerful the Fan family was in the Western Region, all Huang Qiong needed to deal with them was an imperial edict. But the problem is, who is involved in it is not only his beloved woman, but also the eldest son and grandson of the Fan family in name, but in fact they are his own flesh and blood. This was really difficult for Huang Qiong, and even gave him a headache.
Of course, this problem is not entirely a dead end. There is another solution. That is to ask King Anxi to hand over the scholar with the magic pen. But Huang Qiong knew very well that the Fan family secretly spent an unknown amount of money to build these forces in the Western Regions. Even if you ask someone to send the scholar with the magic pen to the Fan family. The Fan family may not really give up. What's more, that old man is the Dinghai Shenzhen of the Western Regions. At least for now, he can only rely on him to win over the old troops left in the Western Regions.
If this person is handed over, those old tribes of Shu people who may not be sincere and obey the King of Anxi sent by him will have to cause some trouble. At that time, the Kara Khanate, which is eyeing from the outside, the Qigasi people, and the Uighur tribes that are already unstable internally will be added. The overall situation that King Anxi spent a lot of effort to stabilize was probably going to collapse again. If those old Shu tribes were completely absorbed by King Anxi, he would not keep begging him to form a large army again.
If you hand over the person, you will agree to it, and King Anxi will not agree to it. Although Huang Qiong disliked this situation of being forcibly kidnapped. But this person was related to the imperial court's fundamental position in the Western Regions, and he could never hand him over just to appease the Fan family. What's more, maybe Nangong Mei really wants to avenge Fan Dao. But the head of the Fan family may not have such simple thoughts. The so-called revenge is probably more in the name of revenge. Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was just for Pei Gong.
As for the mother and son Nangong Mei and Fan Peng, they were just used by the Fan family to deceive themselves. Huang Qiong knew that with Nangong Mei's intelligence, Nangong Mei was well aware of the Fan family's petty tricks. It's just that I was kidnapped on this carriage and could only drift with the tide without being able to extricate myself. And it is estimated that Nangong Mei is thinking more about accumulating more for Fan Peng. Especially when Fan Peng brother and sister cannot recognize themselves. The reason why Nangong Mei didn't object was because she thought more about her son.
Thinking of this, Huang Qiong said a little tiredly: "Mei'er, I have said and done everything I can say and do. If the Fan family wants to persist, there is nothing I can do. How will the future situation turn out? Whatever happens, it is beyond my control. Mei'er, I love you. No matter how much I feel sorry for Peng'er, I will never treat the affairs of the country as a trivial matter. I am not alone in this world, even though I am an emperor. , but not everything can come as one wishes. Mei'er, give up, don't insist on something that doesn't matter."
"I promise you to keep those jade veins for your Fan family. They were bought by your Fan family with your lives. There is no need for the imperial court to take them for themselves. The imperial court allows you to keep your Fan family's cotton plantation at the southern foot of Tianshan Mountain. You can build it yourself, recruit Uighurs, and form a militia for protection. I also guarantee that when your Fan family deals with that magic pen scholar, the Ice Rakshasa will never appear. But the Fan family must cut off ties with Tianshan All contacts with the generals of the armies at Nanlu must not interfere with the affairs of the Western Region."
"I have mobilized a group of elites and officially stationed at the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain. Some of the generals under the command of the useless people of Shu in the southern foothills of Tianshan are now almost in a semi-independent state of separatism. The imperial court will not allow them to continue to exist. This dynasty is not the former Tang Dynasty. , we will never allow the separatist situation of vassal towns to occur again. Even in the Western Regions far away from the Central Plains. Whether from the overall perspective or from a local perspective, the Western Regions must be unified and completely follow the imperial decree. Under this general trend It’s impossible for me to spare the Fan family’s favor.”
Regarding Huang Qiong's reply that he had almost retreated to the point where he could no longer retreat, Nangong Mei, who was still calm at this time, sighed. She knew that this was the biggest concession Huang Qiong could make for her mother and son. He is the king of a country, and it is impossible for him to completely abandon the Western Region just for the sake of his personal relationship. To be able to do this is to value love and justice. If any emperor had changed, the Fan family would probably no longer exist at this time. Just as he said, it is not difficult to mobilize troops to destroy the Fan family.
Even though the Fan family was an important source of business tax for the imperial court, once the Fan family existed, it really touched the imperial court's bottom line. The Fan family is not, completely irreplaceable. As far as Nangong Mei knows, in terms of overseas trade, the Fan family has not been as arbitrary as the Guilin County Prince's Palace in the past, completely monopolizing overseas trade. But because the Fan family did not do what they originally promised on the Silk Road. In the business world of this world, it has somewhat aroused public outrage. Some large households have already expressed their dissatisfaction to the court to a greater or lesser extent.
The cost is lower, but the risks are still high. However, the initial investment is a cost that ordinary businesses cannot bear. Although the Silk Road was more time-consuming, the camel's carrying capacity was limited, coupled with uncertainty along the way and plunder by tribes and horse bandits. The most important thing is that there are checkpoints everywhere along the way, high taxes need to be paid, and the actual cost is also higher. But the initial investment is not high. Find a familiar guide and hire dozens of camels, and a caravan can be formed.
These investments may indeed be unaffordable for ordinary people. But for those small and medium-sized merchants, it is much cheaper to hire dozens or even hundreds of sailors than to build a merchant ship that can go far across the ocean. Especially one-time investment is still relatively limited. Therefore, some small and medium-sized merchants who are interested in doing trade are more concerned about the Silk Road. After all, the one-time investment in shipping was too great, and for the horse bandits and tribes along the Silk Road, the sea was also full of more unknown dangers. '
It has only been a few years since maritime trade began. However, the Fan family already has three merchant ships, and they have never returned since they set sail. He lost his trace on the vast sea. The sailors and stewards who were with the ship were neither alive nor dead. Not counting the thousands of stones of cargo carried, the Fan family lost millions of dollars just on these three ships carrying thousands of stones. The largest of them, a merchant ship with a carrying capacity of three thousand stones, was given a 60% discount even by the imperial court. The cost is still as high as more than 300,000 yuan.
This does not take into account the pensions of the thousands of sailors who accompanied the ship, as well as the stewards, masters, accountants and others. This kind of loss makes the Fan family, which has a strong foundation, feel like it is hurting their muscles and bones. Not to mention, it is even more unbearable for small and medium-sized businesses. Although there are now merchant ships that specialize in buying ships and providing transportation. But on the one hand, the freight is expensive, and on the other hand, it is also full of dangers. Especially for this kind of merchant ship that specializes in transportation, the court does not provide artillery for self-defense. He had no choice but to hire his own escort agency and escort him on board the ship.
Including the escort agency fees, the cost is even higher. If you have the ability to hire a navy ship, the freight will be lower. But the money spent up and down is also a huge expense. For merchants who are relatively strong and keen to go overseas. Those small and medium-sized merchants who are less powerful are still thinking about taking the Silk Road so that they can accumulate money to buy their own ships while saving one-time investment costs. When the Fan family first obtained the right to trade overseas, in exchange it was to open up the Silk Road.
But Nangong Mei knew the actual situation. Although the Fan family opened up the Silk Road, they took advantage of the fact that only under the banner of the Fan family, the horse bandits and tribes along the way did not dare to cause trouble to the caravan. In the name of charging high protection fees, these merchants are squeezed out in disguise.
