Cao Guanshi, a state yamen official.
The carriage stopped in the center, and Qian Zhuo and a subordinate peeled off the thick felt cloth from both sides, revealing a cart full of new sickles inside.
The sharp blade shone with a cold light in the twilight.
Qian Zhuo took a step back and raised his hands to Feng Hua seriously: "Feng Canjun, please check. There are three hundred new sickles in total. This is the second batch. Tomorrow, I will send the third batch, and there will be a fourth batch in the future." If approved, all the thousand sickles ordered by the state government will be delivered."
"Trouble Qilang!" Feng Hua smiled gently and then waved his hand behind him.
Two clerks immediately came down from the steps of the government office and began to count the three hundred sickles on the cart one by one.
Qian Zhuo backed away until he reached the door.
At this time, Chen Ming, the head of Fa Cao, was standing at the door, watching everything coldly.
"Brother Chen, what do you think the prince is going to do? Get so many sickles at once. Are you going to distribute them to the people for them to use?" Qian Zhuo chatted casually and asked some ulterior questions.
Chen Ming glanced at Qian Zhuo impatiently, and then he said patiently: "Your Majesty is so talented and wise, we can guess his thoughts at will.
But I think it should be roughly like this. After all, many ordinary people have to borrow sickles from their homes. How can the summer tax harvest be so fast?
Isn't it the summer tax collection that our prince is most concerned about now? "
"That's true!" Qian Zhuo looked stunned and nodded in agreement.
The root of everything, in the final analysis, ultimately comes down to taxes.
Qian Zhuo couldn't help but think of Qian Zhe's attitude on this matter.
Let it be, don't participate, don't plan, don't intervene.
In this way, no matter how this year changes, who succeeds or fails, the Qian family can have a stable footing.
Such a strategy switch was just a matter of words for Qian Zhe, but for Qian Zhuo it was already a bit arduous.
"Brother Chen, I'm afraid your harvest in the field will be quite large this year, right?" Qian Zhuo looked at Chen Ming with a half-smile.
Chen Ming's body suddenly paused strangely, and then he glanced at Qian Zhuo with a terrifying expression. Seeing that there wasn't much of a different smell on his face, Chen Ming turned his head.
Looking ahead, Chen Ming said calmly: "It's not like your brother doesn't know about my affairs. I have already informed Hucao about the tax this year. They will collect the land tax according to the amount recorded in the yellow book. .”
"Haha!" Qian Zhuo chuckled twice, and then said, "In the past few days, a lot of sickles are delivered every day, and I'm afraid I'm going to trouble Brother Chen. How about I let me be my host today, and talk to him I got drunk together, I wonder if I can reward you?"
"Brother Qian invites you, how dare you refuse." Although Chen Ming had a smile on his face, there was a trace of gritted hatred in his words.
Banquet, Hongmen Banquet.
Qian Zhuo stopped talking and looked at Feng Hua opposite who was about to check the number of sickles.
According to what his brother said, the King of Nanchang always likes to take one step and count three steps when doing things. So what is going on now?
Three hundred sickles, one thousand sickles, what exactly does King Nanchang want to do?
Could it be that he still needs these thousand scythes to build an army of scythes?
Qian Zhuo shook his head. He couldn't understand Li Xuan's views.
At this moment, a burst of footsteps suddenly sounded from behind.
Immediately, Han Jiang, a member of Hucao's army, walked in from outside.
Qian Zhuo and Chen Ming immediately raised their hands and said, "Han Hu Cao."
"Both of you!" Han Jiang nodded slightly, then looked at Feng Hua behind the car and asked: "Brother Feng, do you have the right number of things? I have already registered 500 people here, and I will have to collect at least 600 tomorrow. , if not, the prince will blame you..."
"Enough, definitely enough." Feng Hua pointed to Qian Zhuo and said with a smile: "The second batch of 300 new sickles have been delivered, and there will be 300 more tomorrow, and the remaining ones will be delivered the day after. Sending three hundred handfuls will definitely not delay the prince.
of something. 》Chinese website
"That's the best." Han Jiang nodded slightly, and then prepared to leave.
At this moment, Qian Zhuo couldn't help but step forward and asked, "May I ask Han Hucao, what are these sickles used for?"
"Why, didn't your eldest brother tell you?" Han Jiang stopped, looked at Qian Zhuo with some surprise, paused for a moment, and then explained: "These things are used to distribute to Muzhou immigrants who have just naturalized in Wuzhou. Yes, they will have to do corvee service starting tomorrow!"
"Corvee service?" Qian Zhuo looked blank for a moment, and then he suddenly came to his senses and asked quickly: "Is it this year's corvee service? Why, they have to do corvee service just after they were naturalized? Are there a thousand strong men who have to do labor service?"
A thousand sickles correspond to a thousand laborers. Qian Zhuo's heart sank inexplicably.
"Qian Qilang, are you asking too much?" Han Jiang frowned and looked Qian Zhuo up and down, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.
Qian Zhuo was very perceptive and immediately handed over his hand and said, "Don't think too much about Hu Cao. Qi Lang is just thinking that if there is any shortage in the state government, the Qian family will make up for it immediately. My brother has specifically asked me to maintain a good relationship with the state government." ?"
Qian Qilang smiled sheepishly, and Han Jiang laughed, nodded and said, "That's it."
After a short pause, Han Jiang followed up and said: "If there is a need, it is true, but I am afraid that these one thousand new sickles are still insufficient. I am afraid that three thousand will be needed in the end. I don't know if the Qian family can get them in time. Provide... Don’t worry, the state government will definitely not let the Qian family suffer in terms of price."
"Don't dare, don't dare. I'll do my best to supervise you when I get back next time." Qian Qilang stood up straight, thinking, and said seriously: "Hucao Rongzhen, the most important thing at the moment is the summer tax. Not only the state government, but also the money The same is true for clan."
"Not bad!" Han Jiang nodded.
"Therefore, there are many craftsmen in the family who have to go home to harvest grain." Qian Zhuo pondered for a moment and said: "I can't guarantee that at least two hundred sickles will be delivered in the future. From now on, new sickles of no less than this number will be delivered every day."
"Such a great kindness!" Han Jiang quickly handed over his hand and said excitedly: "Thank you very much, Qi Lang, Ribi. I'll wait for the good news at the state capital."
"Hu Cao is so polite!" Qian Zhuo quickly returned the courtesy with a respectful expression.
The carriage slowly drove out of the state government office, and two figures turned out from behind the screen wall in the inner courtyard.
The one wearing a black-and-gold silk robe was none other than Li Xuan; standing beside him with a respectful look on his face, but looking faintly at the direction in which the carriage disappeared was Xu Jian.
"Send two cautious people to keep an eye on him secretly. Remember to stay as far away as possible, and record everyone they come into contact with every day. Don't miss anyone." Li Xuan turned her head and explained in detail,
"I understand!" Xu Jian raised his hands with a solemn expression.
Qian Zhuo is the seventh son of the Qian family. The Qian family is one of the four major families in Wuzhou. He has the King of Yue as his support. Once the news that he is being watched spreads, the entire Wuzhou will inevitably cause turmoil.
"Yeah!" Li Xuan nodded lightly.
Xu Jian was cautious, and most of his men came out of state prisons, so there was no need to worry about their abilities.
He wasn't very worried about this at the moment. What he was really worried about was what role Qian Zhuo, or even the Qian family, would play in the future.
Deep in his eyes, a line of words appeared silently.
[Qian Zhuo, born in the Qian family in Wuzhou, is the seventh in the family line. He is the steward of the family's dormitory and is responsible for the running of the family's business firm. He is greedy and selfish, loves money as much as his life, and is only interested in profit. 】
Qian Zhuo is not a member of the Tianyin Sect, but for the sake of money, he doesn't care whether the other person is a member of the Tianyin Sect.
As long as there is enough interest, he will immediately pounce on it desperately.
He doesn't care whether it violates the law or causes trouble.
After seeing this clearly, Li Xuan had a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between Qian Zhuo and Tianyin Sect.
"Okay, let's go and call all Zhang Canjun and Cao Canjun." After Li Xuan finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the lobby of the government office.
past.
"Here!" Xu Jian immediately handed over his hand, then turned around and went to call someone elsewhere.
When walking in the state government office, the officials walking around stopped and bowed slightly when they saw Li Xuan.
Li Xuan smiled and nodded slightly, but he didn't pay much attention to them. What he was thinking about at the moment was the appearance of Mr. He, one of the four elders of the Tianyin Sect, at the city gate.
Yesterday, Mr. He left the city with Ye Wanwan and fled to Lanxi, but she returned just one day later.
Why?
Li Xuan raised his head and looked at the sky to the northwest at the setting sun.
Faintly, a beacon appeared in his eyes.
A thin silk thread connects the beacon and Li Xuan.
Sixty miles away, Ye Wanwan was now in the northwest of Wuzhou, sixty miles away from the city.
That's where Lanxi is.
Yesterday, Mr. He took Ye Wanwan away from the city as if he were a treasure, but just one day later, she came back desperately to kill her.
It can’t be because Li Xuan is now practicing the art of divine generation in Wuzhou, right?
This method has just begun to appear to outsiders today.
Wuzhou Buddhist and Taoist sects will continue to hold lectures and debates for three days at the gate of the state city, and then return to their respective counties and villages to carry out large-scale preaching of Taiyin Emperor and Moonlight Bodhisattva, integrating the Tianyin Goddess The missionary work carried out by legend.
Afterwards, whether the Emperor Tianyin replaces the Goddess Tianyin, or the Moonlight Bodhisattva reincarnates and becomes the Goddess Tianyin, they will gradually replace the belief in the Goddess Tianyin.
However, this kind of god-generation technique always takes a certain amount of time. The only ones who can really achieve results in a short period of time are the former Tianyin believers in Zhoucheng who currently have a gap in their beliefs.
For the other nine counties in Wuzhou, the fundamental wavering of Tianyin belief between counties and villages is not critical.
This is a long-term approach, like a slow poison.
Once successful, Tianyin Sect will never be able to revive again.
Pulling back his thoughts, it seems that Mr. He has only one purpose in returning to Wuzhou this time, and that is to meet Qian Zhuo.
After one meeting, she left Wuzhou again.
Li Xuan didn't know if Mr. He had met anyone else before meeting Qian Zhuo, but the only person Li Xuan could target now was Qian Zhuo.
Qian Zhuo, Qian's family, mines, weapons, and even copper coins.
There is no doubt that Tianyin Sect purchased ordnance through Qian Zhuo.
The former Yangzhou Guoyi Captain Zhang Yi, later the Hangzhou Xia family, and the Wuzhou Qian family all provided weapons to the Tianyin Sect.
In addition, there are copper coins.
When I was in Yangzhou, there was always a mystery that remained unsolved in the bad money case, and that was the source of the bad money copper in Yangzhou.
Now everything is clear.
The Qian family owns a copper mine.
So how to target Qian?
While thinking, Li Xuan slowly walked into the lobby.
