The small valley outside Donghu Palace was desolate.
Thin ice is already condensing on the cold river water, and the remaining fallen leaves of Populus euphratica are floating on both sides of the river.
Zhao Hao led a team of people and walked slowly along the river bank, looking around.
The first general among them frowned and looked back at Zhao Hao frequently, but hesitated to speak.
After a long while, Zhao Hao looked back at the general in a funny way and joked: "General Yang, do you have something to say to me? If you have anything to say, you might as well say it directly."
"Young Master, please forgive me. I am very puzzled. Aren't we investigating the assassins? Why do we keep wandering around in this valley?" Yang Duanhe said with cupped hands.
Zhao Hao smiled and said: "In the past, my father wanted to turn the entire eastern part of Qinchuan into a royal forest garden to tame wild wild animals. Several ministers risked their lives to stop him, but my father was furious and refused to listen;
Later, a dwarf Youzhan, who was no more than three feet tall, stepped forward with his fat belly and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the Holy Ming, if the eastern part of Qinchuan is used as the royal forest garden, there will be many ferocious beasts, deer and horses in the Qin State. By then, if the Six Kingdoms If there is an invasion, your Majesty can release wild beasts, deer and horses from the mountains to rush over, and you will definitely defeat hundreds of thousands of troops from the six countries, why not do it?"
"After hearing what Youzhan said, my father was stunned for a moment, then laughed out loud, and immediately ordered the abolition of this royal order!"
After he finished speaking, he changed the topic again and looked at Yang Duanhe with a smile: "If General Yang encounters such a problem, would he be so talented?"
"this"
Yang Duanhe was speechless and didn't know how to communicate.
Zhao Hao smiled, looked up at the woods in front of him, and continued: "If anything is as simple as it seems on the surface, it won't be a problem. Youzhan is just a funny celebrity, how can you persuade my father?" Emperor? Because of his insight!"
"We did not go to the Ganquan Palace ice cellar to investigate, but came here because it is the closest to the east side of Ganquan Mountain. If we go down the river from here, we can perfectly avoid the sight of the imperial army and detour to the west side of Ganquan Mountain."
Hearing this, Yang Duanhe opened his eyes and reacted instantly, cupping his hands and saying: "Young master is wise! The general is stupid, he should have thought of this earlier!"
After saying this, he immediately ordered: "Come here, immediately search for suspicious places along the east bank of the river!"
"promise!"
Everyone agreed and left.
Yang Duanhe also rode away from the river bank.
Zhao Hao looked at them, then turned to look at Chen Ping; "How's the thing I asked you to do?"
"Except for the three young masters, Young Master Liang, Young Master Ronglu, and Young Master Jiang Lu, the rest of the princes and princesses are surrounded by our people. There shouldn't be any problems!" Chen Ping reported in a low voice.
Zhao Hao frowned slightly: "What I want is not that there should be no problems. What I want is that there must be no problems. If necessary, you can kidnap or rob them!"
"this"
"Don't think so much, I'm saving them!"
"But, is Zhao Gao really that brave? How dare he kill the royal family members?" Chen Ping said still puzzled.
Zhao Hao glanced at him and snorted coldly: "He is more courageous than you think, otherwise he would not have tampered with my father's edict and supported Hu Hai to ascend the throne!"
"Then I understand and will carry out the request of the young master!"
"Um!"
Zhao Hao nodded with satisfaction, then suddenly thought of something, slapped his forehead and said, "Oh, by the way, one more thing, how is Yan Le doing lately?"
"Back to the young master, Yan Le has gone to Jiuyuan on Zhao Gao's orders!"
Chen Ping cupped his hands and said, "In addition, he also has a letter, which I will hand over to you personally!"
"letter?"
Zhao Hao frowned, and immediately took the letter from Chen Ping, started to read it, and after a moment he relaxed his brows and said with a smile: "Goudan finally made a conscious choice, yes, let someone protect his father and don't let Zhao Gao bring harm." Got it!"
"promise!"
Chen Ping promised, and then continued to report to Zhao Hao: "Sir, there seems to be something going on at Qing's Trading Company!"
"Qing's Trading Company?"
Zhao Hao was stunned and said in surprise: "Could something happen to my Aunt Qing?"
"no."
Chen Ping shook his head and said, "The head of the Ba Qing family is currently in charge of cotton planting in Bashu, and has not consolidated the Qing's Trading Company's industry. Currently, the Qing's Trading Company is mainly managed by Ba Mi!"
"Ba Mi?"
Zhao Hao pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered such a person, and then asked: "Then what happened to the Qing's Trading Company?"
"Originally, the seven major trading houses in Xianyang were dominated by Wushiluo and Baqing. The two competed with each other, making the other five major trading houses become vassals of each. Later, Wushiluo became the envoy of the Western Regions Mission, and Baqing returned to Bashu;
The other five major trading houses had no support, so they all took refuge in the Commerce Bureau established by the young master. This is a good start. After all, one or two dominant trading houses are not in the interest of the empire;
However, the good times did not last long.
During the time when the young master was away from Xianyang, Bai's Trading Company continued to encroach on Wushiluo's industry, so that its wealth surpassed other trading firms in one fell swoop. Other trading firms also began to follow suit and encroached on Wushiluo's industry."
"Huh? If something like this happened, why didn't Xiao He intervene?"
"It's not that Director Xiao didn't intervene, it's that he couldn't intervene. The interests involved are not only the firm itself, but also many officials in the court."
Having said this, Chen Ping paused and then continued; "Moreover, the Bai's firm's encroachment on Wushiluo's industry was obtained through legal means, not by force!"
"What's the origin of Bai's Trading Company?"
Zhao Hao frowned, vaguely feeling that this matter was not that simple.
"Bai's Trading Company is a trading company established by the Bai family. The current head of the Bai family, Bai Li, has a close relationship with Wushi Luo. He once relied on Wushi Luo's help to save his family business."
"Ah!"
Zhao Hao chuckled when he heard this and sneered: "So, Wu Shiluo failed to raise a tiger and was bitten by one instead?"
"If it's just Bai's Trading Company or other trading firms, I won't pay that much attention. It's just Zhao Gao who seems to be in contact with Xianyang trading firms recently."
"What did you say?"
Zhao Hao said in surprise: "You said Zhao Gao is in contact with the trading houses in Xianyang?"
"good!"
Chen Ping nodded and said: "Zhao Gao's people have been traveling frequently to Xianyang recently, and the people they have come into contact with are all the principals of major business houses in Xianyang."
"So, the matter of Qing's Trading Company is related to Zhao Gao?"
"According to the analysis below, it should be."
Zhao Hao sneered; "It seems that someone gave Zhao Gao a good idea!"
"Young Master means"
"Tell me, if Zhao Gao wants to fight Li Si, besides completely controlling Hu Hai, what else does he need to control?"
"this"
Chen Ping hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively: "Could it be the lifeblood of the imperial court?"
"good!"
Zhao Hao nodded and said: "My father unified the six countries, conquered Baiyue in the south, attacked the Xiongnu in the north, built the Ling Canal, the Great Wall, and the Emperor's Mausoleum. He has spent all the wealth accumulated by the previous kings of the Qin Dynasty. The expenditure of the imperial court has almost reached a state of collapse. I'm embarrassed, what should I do? People's land rent cannot be increased at will, and my father can only take money from the young man's house for expenditure, which is equivalent to using the royal family's private funds for public use!"
"Fortunately, in the past two years, the young master has gained a lot of wealth due to several ways of making money that I introduced, and this has allowed the empire to maintain its basic operation."
"But this kind of operation is very abnormal and cannot last long. Therefore, private wealth must be accumulated and fed back to the court. This is why the court has various policies to transfer profits to the private sector and develop business."
"Nowadays, business is booming and agriculture is also increasing its production capacity. In two or three years, the empire will completely get rid of the private funds of the young master and achieve financial freedom!"
"But."
At this point, Zhao Hao's face became very serious: "Zhao Gao is now involved in Xianyang's trading company. It is clear that he wants to pick the fruits first!"
"You know, because of the rapid economic development in Xianyang, the income of the lower-level officials of the Qin Dynasty has also increased significantly. If Zhao Gaoru controls their income, doesn't he control the lifeblood of the imperial court?"
"Even if Li Si has a deep foundation in the court, it is impossible to fight against all the low-level officials. As long as Zhao Gao solves Li Si through Hu Hai, these low-level officials will definitely obey him!"
"hiss"
When Chen Ping heard this, he couldn't help but take a breath of cold air, secretly thinking that the person who made plans for Zhao Gao was really scheming.
I'm afraid even Li Si didn't expect how much energy those seemingly inconspicuous trading houses and insignificant low-level officials would contain.
In fact, Zhao Hao was not surprised at all. In various elections in later generations, the role of consortia was far more powerful than imagined.
Although there was no so-called election in ancient times, the influence of the consortium was still very important.
Even the most majestic Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty created the famous "Salt and Iron Policy" in order to fight against the financial groups.
"Does the young master want to interfere in the Qing's business?"
"The Qing's Trading Company is not in a hurry. I am somewhat interested in the Bai's Trading Company. I sent someone to investigate carefully to find out which officials in the DPRK they have interests in."
"promise!"
Chen Ping agreed and immediately rode away from the river bank.
At this time, Yang Duanhe rode his horse from a distance and came to Zhao Hao. He cupped his hands and said, "Master Qi, we found a cave in front and there are traces of human activity!"
"Okay! Take me over and have a look!"
Zhao Hao waved his hand and immediately followed Yang Duanhe to the cave.
In fact, these clues were provided to Zhao Hao by Yan Le.
After all, it was Yan Le who led the attack on the ice cellar.
As for why Zhao Hao took Yang Duanhe around in circles, it was mainly to deceive others.
Also, it’s confusing.
When he was attacked on the road, Zhao Hao knew that those assassins were not simple.
Later, Gong Ziliang dragged the assassin he shot and killed back to the camp. Tang Sui recognized the identity of the assassin at a glance, and he was Zhou Kui, the former commander of Luo Wang.
Regarding this matter, Ying Zheng was furious and ordered Tang Sui to conduct a thorough investigation of the people related to Luo Wang.
Therefore, Zhao Hao brought Yang Duanhe here to cover Tang Sui.
After all, Tang Sui had been inseparable from Yang Duanhe during this period.
The main reason was that Li Si was not at ease with Tang Sui, the former emperor's bodyguard.
While Zhao Hao was taking Yang Duanhe over the mountains and ridges, Zhao Gao was rushing to Hu Hai's dormitory.
Because Hu Hai's personal palace attendant Wang Zhong reported to him, Hu Hai fainted in the bedroom.
This frightened Zhao Gao.
You must know that all Zhao Gao's plans and hopes are pinned on Hu Hai alone. If something goes wrong with Hu Hai, he won't be able to cry even if he wants to.
Therefore, as soon as he learned the news, he rushed to Hu Hai's dormitory without stopping.
"What's going on? What's going on? Why did the prince faint!?"
Zhao Gao rushed into Hu Hai's chamber with an angry face, kicking over several palace maids and eunuchs who were kneeling to salute.
"Zhao Fu ordered him to calm down. When the villain found the prince, he had already fainted. At first, the villain thought that the prince was just tired and fell asleep. Later, when it was lunch time, the prince still didn't wake up, so he immediately went to call the imperial doctor. Only then was it confirmed that the prince had fainted!"
Wang Zhong grimaced and bowed.
Zhao Gao slapped him in the face and said angrily: "Why did you fall asleep when you were tired?! The prince fainted, why weren't you by his side? Do you want to die?"
"Mr. Zhao, please calm down. The prince didn't sleep last night. I couldn't bear to disturb the prince, so I didn't stay with him."
"Um?"
Zhao Gao was stunned and couldn't help but said: "Why didn't the prince sleep all night?"
"The villain doesn't know, the prince didn't tell the villain," Wang Zhong said aggrievedly.
Zhao Gao frowned and said coldly: "How is the prince doing now? What did the doctor say?"
"The imperial doctor said that the prince is worried too much and is frightened. He should take some soothing medicine and have a good sleep, and then everything will be fine."
"You said the prince was frightened?"
"This is what the imperial doctor said, but I don't know it clearly."
"waste!"
Seeing that he couldn't explain the situation to Wang Zhong, Zhao Gao got angry and kicked him to the ground, and then walked directly to Hu Hai's bed.
At this moment, Hu Hai was still lying on the bed.
Zhao Gao dismissed the palace maid serving Hu Hai and sat silently by the bed.
It wasn't until the mountain moon was lingering on the horizon and the dawn was faintly visible that Hu Hai opened his eyes with lingering fear and looked around.
"teacher"
Hu Hai looked around and rubbed his eyes. What he saw was not the face that made his scalp numb with fear, but the extremely kind Zhao Gao.
However, Zhao Gao did not speak, just nodded, then picked up a pot of cool mountain spring water, and asked him to take a bowl of decoction prepared by the imperial doctor.
Hu Hai took the decoction honestly, then drank a sip of mountain spring water, and suddenly became energetic.
At this time, Zhao Gaocai asked Hu Hai with concern: "Can the prince tell me what happened?"
"Old teacher Hu Hai has seen my father." Hu Hai said with a trembling voice.
"Boom!"
Zhao Gao felt as if he was struck by lightning. His mind went blank. He suddenly stood up from his seat and looked at Hu Hai in disbelief: "What did you say?!"
"Teacher, Hu Hai has really seen his father. He is underground, staring directly at Hu Hai. With that look in his eyes, Hu Hai will never admit his mistake!"
Hu Hai also stood up from the bed and looked at Zhao Gao in fear.
Zhao Gao was stunned for a moment, then said with a serious face: "The prince means that you saw His Majesty underground?"
"Yes! It's underground, my father!"
Zhao Gao; "."
"Teacher, don't you believe Hu Hai?!"
Hu Hai got a little anxious and quickly jumped off the bed, ran to the cabinet in the corner, pointed at the cabinet and said, "My father is down here!"
"???" (End of chapter)
