The Dutou City is brightly lit, and the midnight bell rings for the passenger ship.
The third watch is approaching, and there is still an endless stream of ferries to and from the dock. Most of the economy of the four capitals in the Central Plains comes from this grand canal.
There are thousands of large and small ships parked at the port. It may take a long time to find the one from Suzhou.
Song Che was like a headless fly, spinning around and around on the pier. Big cities are not friendly to country bumpkins at all.
"Song Che."
Just when he was distressed, a familiar greeting sounded from behind.
He looked back and saw that the distinctive horse-faced man, who was it if he wasn't Chen Rencai?
"Come with me quickly. There are many people on the pier, so don't stay too long." Chen Rencai greeted and walked towards the depths of the port.
Song Che followed and asked, "How is it? Is there anyone following you along the way?"
Chen Rencai said: "If someone were to follow me, I'm afraid the cargo ship would have sunk into the river long ago... Fortunately, my Chen family didn't take over the New Year's Coin business. Since I helped you transport this hot potato, I haven't been able to take care of it for more than half a month." After sleeping on it, you have to take it away quickly."
The two of them turned around seven or eight turns in the port, and finally boarded an inconspicuous cargo ship. They entered the cabin, lit the lamp, and the silk warehouse was neatly stacked.
"Three hundred thousand bolts of silk and fifty husks of pearls are already here. The crew on the ship have all been with us along the way. If you trust them, you can send them as you wish... Well, now that the goods have been handed over to you, my mission has been completed. , I’m going back to Suzhou.”
After Chen Rencai said that, he planned to leave.
But Song Che tried to persuade him to stay: "I'm not familiar with the place in Luoyang City. Why don't you stay and be my guide?"
Chen Rencai curled his lips, "It's not that I don't want to help you, it's that the water in the capital is too deep, and I don't have the skills of Mr. Song, so it's better to stay in Suzhou."
"You were not so timid before."
"Everyone in the family knows that there are mountains outside the world. If you lose money, you can make it again in the next life, but if you lose your life, you really have nothing."
"When you sailed through Yangzhou, did anyone from the Yang family come to see you?" Song Che asked.
Just hearing the word "Yang Family", Chen Rencai's expression immediately changed. He lowered his voice and said, "In the past, silk and tea were the most profitable of the tribute coins paid to Dijon. Therefore, our two families often negotiated before the business was finalized." ;
Some time ago, my Chen family was buying silk on a large scale, while the Yang family was hoarding tea. But none of us expected that in the end, this business would be completely cut off by your Shen family;
The Yang family has suffered much more losses than my Chen family;
My Chen family has used some despicable means to compete maliciously, but at least they know how to use their discretion and will not cause harm to anyone. The Yang family is different. The cruelty of their father and son is recognized by the Jiangnan business community... In short, Mr. Song, you have to be good. Accepted. "
Chen Rencai got off the boat, rented a small boat, and left Luoyang that night.
Song Che has been thinking about it every night since he was awakened by the Li family in Luzhou.
But the more he thought about it, the more he understood, and the more he thought about it, the more he understood it. He was the one who gave Gao Chen the advice and earned it through his own ability. Why shouldn't he get it?
Who said you can't eat a big fat person in one bite? The soldiers will block it, the water will cover it, and the earth will cover it. What should Song have to fear?
In the second half of the night, Song Che rested on the boat until the fifth watch, when he started to call for helpers to unload the cargo.
When the market opens at dawn, hard-working people get up early and start their busy day. Looking at the bustling Xijing Pier, the painting "Along the River During Qingming Festival" is quite subtle.
While unloading the goods, Song Che went to the market to buy some red silk and satin, and also spent a lot of money to hire a matchmaker.
Pretending to be a wealthy marriage proposal team, swaggering through the market with dozens of carts of betrothal gifts, no one should be suspicious, right?
Back at the dock, all the goods had been unloaded and loaded onto the truck. Song Che tied the red silk onto the truck, rode a red-maned horse, attended to more than a hundred helpers, and headed north of the city.
"Oh, I, Matchmaker Zhang, have been a matchmaker for twenty years, and I have never been as prosperous as I am today!"
Matchmaker Zhang twisted the waist of the bucket, waved the handkerchief in her hand, and followed Song Che's horse, so proud that her chin almost went up to the sky.
The people on the street gave way one after another. Seeing this huge formation, no one would not point out and praise: "Whose young master is proposing marriage, and a full fifty carts of betrothal gifts are provided, what a huge handiwork!"
"By the way, Mr. Song, you haven't told our family yet where you are going to propose marriage." Matchmaker Zhang suddenly asked.
Song Che just said: "Just follow along."
Matchmaker Zhang smiled and said: "You can't trouble me with this. Go to the north of the city. Wherever you live, there are all dignitaries and relatives of the emperor!"
Song Che stroked the sword in his arms, but he was somewhat worried. He came to propose marriage without saying hello, and the impatient heroine was afraid that he would be angry.
But as long as it can be delivered safely, everything will be fine.
Half an hour later.
The motorcade arrived at the gate of Anyang Prince's Mansion.
"Oh! My mother-in-law is from the prince's palace!" Matchmaker Zhang was so shocked that she almost dislocated her jaw. "I, Zhang Meihua, am truly lucky to have a royal marriage!"
With such a huge formation, all the servants and servants in the palace came out to watch the excitement.
"Get out of the way, why are you blocking the door? Why don't you go back to the palace to do some work!" An old man over sixty years old, wearing butler's clothes, led two round-chested men out of the palace.
After all, Song Che came with a lot of gifts, and the old housekeeper was polite at first, "Young Master is so proud and has a car full of bonuses. Why is that?"
Matchmaker Zhang said: "Old official, do you even need to ask? I'm naturally here to propose marriage."
"What nonsense!" shouted the old housekeeper: "Our princess is only five years old this year, and she is a relative of the emperor. She should be granted a marriage by the emperor. What qualifications do you, a commoner with unknown origins, have to come to the palace to propose marriage?"
"Don't be angry, old man. Naturally, I don't dare to climb up to the emperor's relatives. Today I am bringing fifty carts of red gifts to ask for the sworn sister of Princess Han to marry." Song Che threw the sword to the old butler, "If you don't believe it, the token is here this."
The old housekeeper's eyes were close to the sword, and he looked at it from beginning to end. He raised his head and looked at Song Che in astonishment: "This is... Miss Lin's sword! You... are you here to propose marriage to her?"
Song Che smiled and said: "The sword is here, how can it be fake?"
"Master, you... are so courageous!"
"Steward Wang, Steward Wang..." A little maid hurriedly ran out of the palace, "The princess said that the visitor is a distinguished guest and needs to be welcomed into the palace well, and she must not be neglected in the slightest."
"Okay! There is a happy event at home early in the morning. Please invite your husband into the house quickly!"
The servants of the palace helped transport the goods into the palace.
Song Che casually rewarded the matchmaker with a piece of silver, dismounted from his horse, put on his clothes, and entered the prince's palace happily.
One side is overly addicted to drama, but the other side is full of anger.
"Miss Lin, congratulations, finally a man dares to...well, finally found out about his beloved!" The old housekeeper handed the sword to Lin Yue, and all the servants gave their blessings.
Lin Yue held the sword and glared at Song Che through gritted teeth. If no one else was present, she would have been afraid that she would just draw the sword.
The princess sent a group of servants, and she was both happy and impressed by Song Che's singing so early in the morning, "Mr. Song, please stay in the living room for a while. Mr. Cai of Duzhisi happened to be a neighbor of the palace. He soon Able to."
"It's best not to say it's Sui coins, just invite him here."
"Sir, don't worry. I'll tell you that the prince has a messenger and he has to come."
"Then there's Princess Lao."
…
Song Che was having tea in the living room. Just after a while, the servant led a middle-aged man in his forties with a goatee into the living room.
Duzhisi, Cai Mao.
"I wonder if the prince has any message for the envoy to bring to him?" Cai Mao asked as he entered the room.
Song Che apologized to him first, "My lord Cai, I forgive you. I am not a prince who trusts history, but a businessman who transfers annual coins. My surname is Song and my name is Che. I am from Suzhou."
The issue of annual coins involves the country. As the chief officer of the Third Division, Cai Mao knows the market conditions and even the intrigues here better than anyone else.
Cai Mao frowned and looked at Song Che, and then asked in a deep voice for a long time: "According to the news the day before yesterday, a fire broke out at the inn outside Yingzhou Prefecture, destroying a caravan from Suzhou. I have been restless these days... you Don't tell me that there are coins in that caravan that you transferred."
"If the Sui coins are really burned, I won't be able to chop off a hundred heads, let alone come to the palace to meet with you privately," Song Che said with a smile: "Don't worry, Master Cai, now the three hundred thousand pieces of silk, fifty Dendrobium pearls, not one missing or missing, are stored in the palace."
He looked at Cai Mao and said, "This business transfer should have been handled by Cao Tian. However, he was assassinated halfway. In desperation, Song was ordered to do business in Suzhou for more than half a month. He traveled in wind and rain and at starry night. He was intercepted by bandits, persecuted by villains, and finally arrived in Luoyang after going through a lot of hardships;
Song was just a pure businessman, and he also claimed to be a sensible person. It was for this reason that he invited Mr. Cai to deliver the goods privately to the palace;
Your Excellency, as the Du Branch Secretary and in charge of the financial power of the dynasty, should know better than anyone else the conflict of interest arising from this batch of coins;
We managed this business without anyone noticing, saving both parties a lot of trouble. "
The parties in the imperial court are complex and numerous, and every official has their own interests to pursue, and Cai Mao in front of him is probably the same.
Song Che didn't want to speculate on which faction Cai Mao belonged to, but the coins had been delivered to the emperor's feet, and with the emperor's relatives as guarantees, the delivery was certain.
When the goods were handed over to the officials, Song Che collected the money he deserved. In the future, whether the goods would flow to Dijon, pay tribute to Xiqiang, or be burned again, the conflicts of interest involved would be The people who come, the impact, everything has nothing to do with him.
Put aside the relationship and be alone, not to mention whether you can completely eliminate trouble, but at least you will have one more option to escape when trouble comes.
