Seeing his shameless look, Cao Dejiang found it difficult to connect him with the emperor's eldest grandson of Zhilan Yushu back then. He still remembered that the child was gentle and elegant, and he smiled like a domesticated rabbit. Now he didn't even say a word like a wild wolf cub. Too much.
Cao Dejiang covered his sleeves and wiped the water off his face, and said angrily: "What do you want to do when you send Gu Helian away?"
"You are a wise old man."
Cao Dejiang glared at him.
Xiao Yan stretched out his hand to refill his tea and said, "I heard that Mrs. Cao has a nephew named Hou Zhang. One of his uncles is a famous grain merchant in the south. Hou Zhang has a very good relationship with him. It’s also wide.”
"You just saw how hard Fuyue and the others are pressing. The northwest is short of grain and grass, but now I really can't spare the manpower to go south to raise grain..."
Cao Dejiang immediately understood what he meant and cursed angrily.
"I know that you are showing kindness when you have nothing to do, so you must not be holding something back."
He frowned and thought for a moment before saying:
"Hou Zhang is a reliable person, but his uncle is a person who puts interests first. In the past, he had many dealings with powerful people in the capital. With the backing of the Hou family, he may not be afraid of people far away in the capital. If he knows about you, He is raising food for the northwest, he might find the rare goods useful..."
Raising food for the army requires more than a little bit. Even if one stone only costs ten to twenty cents, the price will be sky-high in the end.
Cao Dejiang thought for a moment: "If you can trust me, I will ask Cong An to go to the south to meet Hou Zhang in person. He will first inquire about the price of food there, and then send people to disperse various places to collect food, so as not to hoard a large amount of food at once." The turmoil in food prices has affected people's livelihood in the south..."
Before Cao Dejiang finished speaking, Xiao Yan pushed a box over and handed it to Cao Dejiang. When he opened it, there was a thick stack of silver notes inside.
"Then I'm sorry to bother you. Here are 30,000 taels of silver notes. Please give them to Hou Zhang to clear up connections in the south. As for the gold to raise food, I have sent someone to escort it to the Hou family. If we set off from An tomorrow, we can hurry up. , should be able to catch up."
Cao Dejiang: "..."
He couldn't laugh or cry: "Have you settled your feelings?"
I came to "discuss" with him after all the gold was given away. Is this bastard sure that he will agree?
Xiao Yan held the tea in a serious manner and offered it: "It's not a matter of calculation, but I know that you are upright and honest and serve the country and the people."
Cao Dejiang took the cup and rolled his eyes at him: "Stop flattering me!"
"However, although Hou Zhang has some connections, the Hou family is not as good as the Gu family. If Gu Helian says something, why can't he get back the food and supplies? Since you just kept him, why bother looking for something far away?"
Xiao Yan said: "The Gu family cannot be involved in court affairs for the time being, let alone the military."
Cao Dejiang was stunned for a moment, and it took him only a moment to understand what Xiao Yan meant.
The Gu family is so rich that everyone is greedy for it.
Zuozhou is located in Yanzhong, which is where the Wei Dynasty and the Southern Qi Dynasty meet. The Gu family controls Zuozhou and captures all the wealth in the world. Their wealth is connected to all countries. However, because they have always been impartial and not vassal to any powerful power, they have also cooperated with various countries. We have good relations with other forces on an equal footing and are closely related to their interests.
No one is willing to touch the Gu family easily for fear of pushing the Gu family into the hands of others. That's why the Gu family and Zuozhou can remain aloof amid the competition between all parties, and no one dares to touch it easily.
But once the Gu family loses its bias and favors others, the balance will be broken instantly.
At present, the Wei Dynasty is experiencing internal injustice and the Beiling border is facing serious troubles. The Gu family cannot directly get involved with the Wei army at this time, let alone get involved in the battle between the Wei Dynasty and Beiling.
Xiao Yan didn't hide anything from Cao Dejiang: "Gu Helian treated Mrs. Rong Guo sincerely, and he remembered the kindness the Rong family had shown him back then. He loved Tang Ning as much as he loved the house. If he knew that I was having trouble raising food, he would definitely take the initiative and take over the matter." , with his character he will lean towards Zuozhou whether I refuse or not, but this matter is not good for him, me, or even the current Wei Dynasty."
"I told him that I already had a way to raise food, and asked him to secretly go to Western Xinjiang for me to buy horses. The Gu family has several large horse farms, and they used to do business in this area with various ministries in Western Xinjiang. Even if they get more military horses, they won't do it. It’s so eye-catching.”
Cao Dejiang listened to Xiao Yan's calm words and couldn't help but soften his eyebrows: "You seem to be hard-hearted on the surface, but you are very considerate towards Gu Helian."
If it were another person, as long as he could succeed and raise what he wanted, he would be eager to take this opportunity to completely tie the Gu family to his side, and would not care whether the Gu family lives or dies after doing something.
But Xiao Yan seemed to be ruthless and ruthless, but he still left room for action.
Cao Dejiang seemed to see the former prince in him in a trance. No matter how the person in front of him changed, he still retained the nature of the eldest grandson of the emperor in the palace.
Be upright, have a bottom line, and never go out of your way for selfish desires.
Cao Dejiang's eyes were filled with relief: "Don't worry, I will let Hou Zhang take care of this matter."
"What's done? What are you talking about?"
Gu Helian changed into the spare clothes in the carriage and came in from the outside with a beautiful look.
The clothes on his body changed from dark green to purple, and the accessories around his waist were replaced by suet-fat warm jade that matched the clothes. The purple and gold girdle was inlaid with gems and gold patterns that blinded people's eyes.
"Fortunately, I prepared a set of regular clothes, otherwise I would have to go out dirty today, but these clothes are too shabby."
"..."
The corners of Cao Dejiang's eyes twitched, "How do you think that these clothes, which are based on cloud brocade and have gold threads as patterns, look like they are rich and worth thousands of gold, are shabby?" !
Xiao Yan took a deep breath: "You can actually shut up."
This peacock keeps showing off like this.
He is really going to regret it! !
…
Cao Dejiang did not stay in Jiuyun Lane for long. When Xiao Yan sent him out, Cao Dejiang said to him:
"Although His Majesty has arranged a marriage for you and Tang Ning, the proper betrothal rituals and procedures are indispensable. You have no parents alive, have you figured out who will come forward to propose marriage for you?"
Xiao Yan said, "I'm thinking of asking Mrs. Wenxinhou or Mrs. Fu to come forward."
Originally the best candidate would have been the Empress Dowager, but she is old and suffering from illnesses, and is not suitable to be in the capital at the moment.
As for the other noble female relatives, Xiao Yan was not familiar with them, but Mrs. Wen Xinhou and Mrs. Fu, one was Rong Yue's handkerchief, and the other used to protect Tang Ningduo.
Cao Dejiang frowned: "On the day of the palace change, Marquis Wenxin had already made the Holy Heart unhappy by speaking for you. However, he is a loyal person and would not betray his identity as a monarch easily. If Marquis Wenxin were to step in for you, If you propose marriage, you may put him in a dilemma."
Xiao Yan paused after hearing the words, remembering that Marquis Wen Xin had been alienated from him in the past few days.
The reason why Marquis Wenxin helped him that night was not because of their good personal relationship, but for the sake of keeping the court clear and not letting the people of the world feel cold, and also for the sake of stability in the Wei Dynasty. However, Marquis Wenxin never interacted with him in private. , even the thank-you gift he had someone send afterwards was sent back.
He is not like the wavering people in the court, and is extremely loyal to the royal family.
Xiao Yan thought for a moment: "Then please invite Mrs. Fu. I will personally go to the Fu family to discuss the matter with her later."
