Back to the Warring States Period as Zhao Kuo

Just as Xu Li left, Guo Zong came again.

Guo Zong's face was not very good-looking, and he complained to Zhao Kuo as soon as he came up: "Zhao Qing, I just went to Linzi to meet Qi Xiangbang Housheng, but there was a little trouble when negotiating with him.

Hou Sheng insisted on a [-]-[-] split, otherwise he would not cooperate with us. "

Zhao Kuo's face suddenly changed: "Is this Hou Sheng crazy about money?

Our Zhao State's weapons are much stronger than their Qi State's weapons. Now we secretly smuggle them to him, and it's fine if we don't ask him for money. He actually wants to share our money? "

Guo Zong spread his hands, meaning clearly: "Zhao Qing, what do you think should be done about this matter?"

Zhao Kuo rubbed his nose, and immediately had an idea: "Well, you can go to Linzi again and tell him that our Zhao State is likely to attack Qi State next year.

That guy Hou Sheng has always been greedy for life and afraid of death, and he will definitely give in when he hears the news of the war.

If you tell him that we will give him [-]% of the profit, there should be no problem. "

Guo Zong is also a happy person, he nodded immediately and said: "Okay, then Guo will go to Linzi again.

By the way, Zhao Qing, there is another troublesome thing. "

Zhao Kuo was taken aback for a moment, and thought that everything was really gathered together: "Say it."

Guo Zong's expression suddenly became serious, and he said, "Zhao Qing, something happened to the ginseng industry in Shangdang County."

Things have to start with the emergence of the ginseng industry.

Although it is only a new industry, but because of the channels and resources of the Zhao Guoda businessman Guo Zong and Guo's Chamber of Commerce, and the secret support of the previous prefect Zhou Shaofen, and this is the fiefdom of Lord Pingyuan, the three benefits are superimposed. As a result, the ginseng industry in Shangdang County has developed rapidly and is in full swing.

Like other industries that are just in their infancy, ginseng started out in a state of barbaric growth.

In order to ensure the monopoly, Zhou Shaofen, the former governor of Shangdang County, declared from the very beginning that all ginseng business must be carried out under the supervision of the government. Maybe all blocked, which leaves a lot of room for some guys.

A large number of nearby villagers and rangers who heard the news sneaked into the mountains to find and pick ginseng. From time to time, stories of "someone dug up a thousand-year-old ginseng and became rich overnight" spread, attracting more people. Many people come.

For a time, "ginseng guest" became a new and desirable profession.

It is not a joke that there are many generous and tragic people in the land of Yanzhao. Rangers in Zhao State are also famous for their lawlessness. So later, there were even groups of rangers who became bandits and bandits in the mountains and robbed the government. And the ginseng team of Guo's Chamber of Commerce, and then take it to South Korea or Qin Guodong County to sell it.

The so-called cutting off people's wealth is like killing their parents. This is naturally a hornet's nest. Zhou Shaofen organized the local county soldiers and Guo Zong's Guo's Chamber of Commerce guards to start a large-scale encirclement and suppression of several bandits in Shangdang County.

After half a year, most of the bandits have been wiped out, only one bandit named "Zhen Potian" is still struggling.

Zhen Potian's lair had already been found, and it was a matter of minutes to wipe it out, but at this time, the former county governor Zhou Shaofen was promoted to Handan, and Yu Xin became the new Shangdang county governor.

As soon as Yu Xin took office, he directly stopped the encirclement and suppression of Zhen Potian in the name of "a waste of money for the people but no benefit to the local area, and only enriches the Guo family's merchants".

Due to the lack of support from the soldiers of Shangdang County, the guards of Guo's Chamber of Commerce alone could not wipe out Zhen Potian, so they could only retreat from the Shangdang Mountains, allowing Zhen Potian to take a life.

Then a miraculous thing happened. Within a month, the five ginseng teams of Guo’s Chamber of Commerce in Shangdang County were all targeted by Zhen Potian, which directly caused the production of ginseng from Shangdang County to drop by more than [-]% this month. There are so many successes.

What is the concept of [-]%?

Based on the current shipments of ginseng in Yan, Zhao, and Qi, five achievements means that this month's sales will drop by 500 million yuan!And the profit attributable to Zhao Kuo also directly evaporated 150 million out of thin air.

It can be predicted that if Zhen Potian cannot be stopped, ginseng production will continue to decline in the future, and the profits that can be distributed to Zhao Kuo will become less and less.

As Zhao Kuo listened, his face gradually became ugly.

Now Zhao Kuo mainly has two income channels, the first is the profit sharing of ginseng, and the second is from the sale of Sutie weapons. At present, the Zhao family’s finances are so tight, if the ginseng side is cut off all of a sudden Source, Zhao Kuo will be in debt or even go bankrupt in minutes.

"This damn Yu Xin!"

Zhao Kuo slammed his fist on the table and said coldly: "It can't be such a coincidence. Zhen Potian was able to find so many people to join the team at once. Is it related to Yu Xin?"

Guo Zong said in a low voice: "There is no evidence to prove it now, but according to the custom established when Zhou Shaofen and Zhou Qing were there, every ginseng team will be supervised by people from the Shangdang County government. The sheriff really has the ability to reveal the whereabouts of the ginseng team."

"good very good."

Zhao Kuo nodded slowly, his eyes were cold: "I'll settle this matter, you go to Linzi to find it first and then win."

Zhao Kuo was really angry.

I thought that Yu Xin would become more stable after being sent to Shangdang, but I didn't expect this kid to make trouble everywhere, and this time he actually set his sights on the young master's money.

court death!

Chapter 104 The Secret Behind the Ginseng Crisis

Lin Xiangru's mansion.

Lin Xiangru and Lian Po sat opposite each other, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious, but the expressions on their faces were not too good.

Lian Po sighed, and said: "This time the king was persuaded by Zhao Kuo to conquer Qin, it seems that the position of general will probably fall into his hands."

Lin Xiangru shook his head, also with a bit of helplessness on his face: "There is no way, who made him defeat Bai Qi twice?

This person is simply Bai Qi's nemesis. "

Lian Po couldn't help being silent when he heard the words.

In the Battle of Yiyang, the combination of Lian Po, Lord Xinling and the superior forces of the Allied Forces of the Six Nations did not fight in vain. Seeing that the three-nation allied forces suffered a heavy blow, Bai Qi retreated and spit out hundreds of miles of land after hearing the wind. This direct comparison really made this proud old general unable to utter any words of refutation.

After a moment of silence, Lian Po said, "Isn't it faster for you to let Yu Xin do it at this time?"

Lin Xiangru reached out and knocked on the table in front of him, and said: "It's not like you don't know Yu Xin's character. He has failed Zhao Kuo one after another, and his desire for revenge has long been extremely hot, and he can't stop it at all."

Lian Po raised his voice: "Since he has been defeated by Zhao Kuo one after another, it means that he is far inferior to Zhao Kuo. At this time, if he wants to attack Zhao Kuo again, is it courting death?"

Lin Xiangru smiled slightly, and said: "It's still different, this time it's the old man's instruction, which is completely different from Yu Xin's own nonsense."

Lian Po looked at Lin Xiangru with some doubts: "Can a mere ginseng really hurt Zhao Kuo?

And don't forget that Zhou Shaofen and Zhou Qing also have a share in it. If you annoy Zhou Qing and make him completely hostile to us, it's not good, right? "

Lin Xiangru said unhurriedly, "It's not just Zhao Kuo.

During this period of time, the old man has quietly arranged some people to enter the Guo's Chamber of Commerce, and has already inquired about the details of the ginseng business.

Guo Zong and Zhou Qing only accounted for [-]% of the shares. "

Lian Po's eyes widened in surprise: "These two people add up to only [-]%, doesn't it mean that Zhao Kuo alone accounts for [-]%?

Good boy, the old man said why someone recently reported that Zhao's manor had purchased a large amount of iron ore. It turned out that this boy is rich. "

Lin Xiangru showed an inscrutable smile, and said, "If you think so, it's a bad thing.

In fact, Zhao Kuo is just a cover for the ginseng business. If the old man's estimation is correct, Zhao Kuo should only have about [-]% of the remaining [-]%. The real big owner of the ginseng business is someone else. "

Lian Po was even more surprised: "Who is it?"

Lin Xiangru took a deep breath and said, "It's our old opponent, Mr. Pingyuan!"

Lian Po patted his thigh and said, "So it was him! I just said that only Mr. Pingyuan can do this in the ginseng business."

Lin Xiangru nodded slightly and said, "That's the truth.

So this time we will attack the ginseng business, not only will Zhao Kuo be hit, but Lord Pingyuan will also be hit hard. "

Lian Po frowned and said with a smile: "That's fine, let Zhao Kuo suffer too, otherwise the old man will always be upset when he sees his face."

Lin Xiangru said with a smile: "Haven't you already been convinced by Zhao Kuo's leadership ability?"

Lian Po snorted and said: "Although he is a strong leader, the old man has learned a lot from his careful study of his battle examples. Now he may not be worse than him."

Lin Xiangru laughed loudly: "I hope so.

In short, not only Yu Xin needs revenge, but we Scholars faction also need a political victory to boost morale.

You also know that today's officials are all followers of power. If they can't win again, they will all go to Mr. Pingyuan and Zhao Kuo after a while, and then it will be too late to regret. "

"ok, ok, I got it."

Lian Po waved his hand, and said, "I don't worry about Yu Xin doing these things, but I'm still at ease if you do them.

Just be careful not to show any telltale feet. "

Lin Xiangru said with a smile: "There should be no problem. That Zhen Potian was originally a bandit in Shangdang County. What Yu Xin did was to provide Zhen Potian with the location of the ginseng mining team, and he was informed verbally. , there will be no evidence left at all.”

Lian Po said worriedly, "Whether it will affect local security and taxes is a big deal."

Lin Xiangru shook his head and said, "Don't worry about local security, Zhenpotian only works in the mountains and forests, and now only ginseng visitors will enter the mountains.

As for taxation, ginseng is the business of people like Zhao Kuo and Mr. Yuan. How will it affect the national taxation?

When the ginseng business is ruined by Zhen Potian, Zhen Potian at that time must also be a tyrant in the Taihang Mountains. At that time, we will ask Yu Xin to wipe out Zhen Potian, which will be another great achievement. Let Yu Xin take advantage of the situation and return to the center, wouldn't it kill multiple birds with one stone? "

Lian Po was convinced when he heard it, and couldn't help nodding: "Okay, you are indeed much more considerate than that kid Yu Xin, so let's do it this way."

Lin Xiangru twisted his beard and smiled slightly, his face was full of confidence.

Zhao Kuo Mansion.

"Zhou Qing, why did you come in person?"

Seeing Zhou Shaofen coming in person, Zhao Kuo was somewhat surprised: "Just send a confidant to explain the situation."

Zhou Shaofen is the only one of Zhao Kuo's "insiders" among the six important ministers, but the two of them deliberately fell out so that Zhou Shaofen could go to the scholar faction as an undercover agent. If someone finds out that Zhou Shaofen and Zhao Kuo met secretly Wouldn't this matter be yellow?

Thinking about it this way, Zhao Kuo felt that Zhou Shaofen in front of him was a little ignorant.

Zhou Shaofen also seemed to know what Zhao Kuo was thinking, and after a wry smile, he said: "Zhao Qing misunderstood, it's not that Zhou was not thinking carefully, it's really not easy to shake the sky."

"not simple?"

Zhao Kuo looked at Zhou Shaofen with some doubts: "Isn't he just an ordinary bandit? Could there be other peculiarities?"

In Zhao Kuo's view, Taihang Mountain has always been a place full of bandits because of its high mountains and dense forests. In history, the disappearance of bandits in Taihang Mountain must have happened after the founding of New China. It has stopped, and it is normal for something like Shapotian Megatron Decepticon Optimus Prime to appear.

Zhou Shaofen shook his head and said: "It seems so, but when I was in Shangdang County to suppress Zhen Potian, I actually discovered many things that were wrong."

Zhao Kuo touched his chin and said, "For example?"

Zhou Shaofen said: "For example, although the number of bandits in Zhen Potian is only 500, they have more than [-] Korean-style crossbows!"

"what?"

Zhao Kuo was a little surprised, but immediately regained his composure: "Shangdang County was still the land of South Korea before the Battle of Changping last year. It would not be surprising if some Korean soldiers fell into bandits because they were unwilling to surrender to our Great Zhao. "

Zhou Shaofen nodded, and said: "If it's just that, then Zhou's thoughts are actually consistent with Zhao Qing's.

But the strangest thing was that the bandits who shook the sky were well-trained when they advanced and retreated, and they looked like an army.

However, what they used was not the formation and tactics of the Han army, but the tactics of the Qin army! "

After Zhou Shaofen's words fell, Zhao Kuo's eyes suddenly became extremely sharp: "Qin army's tactics?"

Chapter 105

Since it may be the remnants of the Han army who fell into the grass, it is normal for Zhen Potian to have some of the Korean army's standard crossbows. The meaning behind it is worth pondering carefully.

Zhao Kuo tapped the table lightly with his fingers, lost in thought, and said after a while: "It seems that things are not that simple, do you know anything about Zhen Potian?"

Zhou Shaofen showed a wry smile, and said: "The bandits like Zhen Potian have never been considered the most ferocious bandits in Shangdang County, not even the top three.

But his banditry's fighting power is very strong, and every time he fights with other bandits, he is also extremely fierce and endless, so although he has only a few hundred people, other bandits have always been with him.

I put him in the last place to kill him just to be on the safe side. I didn't expect that now that Yu Xin had stepped in, it would turn into such a situation. "

Zhao Kuo narrowed his eyes, and said after a while, "Tell me, since Zhen Potian is the only group of bandits in Taihang Mountain, will many people join him?"

Zhou Shaofen froze for a moment, and said, "Should be?"

Zhao Kuo nodded slightly, and said: "Understood, Zhou Qing, you can go back, and leave this question to me."

After Zhou Shaofen left, Zhao Kuo approached Xu Li and said, "Uncle Xu, immediately find two or three capable disciples, preferably rangers from the Shangdang area, and let them set off for Shangdang as soon as possible to see if they can help you." Find a way to join Zhen Potian's bandits and get more information."

Xu Li responded and said, "Do you need to make other preparations?"

Zhao Kuo pondered for a moment, and said: "Not for now, I always feel that this matter may have something to do with the people of Qin, but there is no evidence yet, let's wait until the evidence is conclusive.

But this matter should be as soon as possible, otherwise the ginseng business will be affected, and our income will also be greatly affected. "

"income?"

Xu Li's waist straightened immediately, and he said through gritted teeth: "Please don't worry, my lord. The old minister wants to see which bastard dares to affect the income of our Zhao family. He must be skinned and his head taken." Just be a wine baron!"

For Xu Li, doing other things is fine, but it is absolutely impossible to affect Zhao's income and Xu Li's dream of being a big steward with a warehouse full of money!People are a very strange thing. When you have nothing to do, you can hang out at home every day, but when you are busy, you feel as if everything in the world is gathered on the same day.

Zhao Kuo is in such a situation now, just sent away Guo Zong and Zhou Shaofen, today's No.3 guest unexpectedly arrived again.

It was Mr. Pingyuan who had an unattractive complexion.

Mr. Pingyuan got straight to the point when he first arrived: "Zhao Qing, something happened to the ginseng on the Shangdang side, you should know about it too, right?"