Konoha Aogen

Chapter 58: Boss Xue

In the blink of an eye, it was midsummer again, and it had been two full years since the "Konoha Clan" all moved south. "Kongrong City" is still prosperous and lively. Summer afternoons can make people feel decadent and exhausted. In the evenings, the streets and alleys of the "inner city" are the busiest.

The current head of the "Xue family" and the boss of "Tonghui Bank", "Xue Rui", accompanied by his second son "Xue Rang", left the north gate of the "inner city". He wanted to go to the "outer city" to look around. Look.

Next to "Xue Rui" were six unattractive attendants, who were not very close and seemed to be wandering around lazily and tiredly. With these six people here, "Xue Rang" is only worried about "Xue Yuan" in "Fenglin City", whether the defense is a bit empty.

"Xue Rui"'s hands skillfully rested on the handle of the "silver nanmu wheelchair" in front of him. Sitting in the chair was a quiet and beautiful disabled girl in a gauze skirt, who looked like a painting. She was far more beautiful than The eldest daughter "Xue Lan" and the youngest daughter "Xue Tang" are both more cherished and loved by him and his adopted daughter "Yu Yao". In terms of age, "Xue Rui"'s four sons and two daughters all call her sister.

The "inner city" is clean and orderly, hypocritical and extravagant. The "outer city" reveals a rough and brutal vitality.

Various workshops are noisy and noisy, excreting filth to each other; vying to occupy the narrow alleys, dirty but delicious street food stalls; prostitutes wearing powder as pungent as fragrant sand in a toilet bucket, If it finds that there is no dirt in your nails, or if there is some leftovers in the dishes after eating at a food stall, it will leisurely float to your side and rub it lightly. That carefreeness will not be so graceful that it will be overtaken by the sisters further away, and that gentle nudge will not be so offensive that it will get you a beating, most of the time.

Some children with bare feet or even naked bodies wander in the streets where snacks are densely packed, avoiding the beatings of stall owners and constantly harassing diners who are sitting or standing. If you are lucky, you can get a bite of food or even a few copper coins. Some shady diners deliberately put copper coins into the hands of smaller children in public, and then stood aside and enjoyed their fighting and fighting.

In Kurong City, it was rare to see beggars in their prime with sound limbs. In recent times, with the rise of the "Yunshan League", it has become a common practice.

"I still remember the first time the 'Yunshan League' served porridge in the 'Outer City'. They used the 'black rice' that Yunluo liked to eat. As soon as the big cauldron boiled, the aroma filled the sky, and the crowd surrounded them with a 'boom' Go over there. You know, in the end it is the strong people who get a taste of it. How can the really sick and hungry people squeeze in? Ah, Yunluo is the leader of the 'Yunshan League', the youngest daughter of Mr. 'Yunda'." Xue Jean explained.

"Don't tell it like a joke. If you let her go on like this, it will be you who will be harmed in the future." Xue Rang was immediately horrified by the faint words, and he only said yes.

…………

"I won't bargain, but I will make three conditions." The next day, in a pavilion beside a clear pond in "Lin Yuan", "Xue Rui" sat on a wicker chair and looked at Ye Xuan calmly and said. His eyes were clear and his tone was soft.

"First, the 'Konoha Family' needs to declare to the world that, except for the people of the 'Xue Family', whoever becomes the 'Kurei City Lord' will come back and kill him. This statement is handwritten by you and is engraved on the door of the 'City Lord's Mansion' on the stone tablet;

Second, in order to avoid shock, ‘Kurong City’ must be handed over slowly. The shortest term may be three years, and the longest term shall not exceed five years. You can’t leave until the ‘Xue Family’ takes complete control of ‘Kurong City’;

Third, the first silver is 20% and the last silver is 80%, which should be paid with the banknotes from Tonghui Bank.

Of course, the premise of all this is that your subsequent movements should not make me too embarrassed. After selling "Kurong City", you refused to tell "Lao Er" clearly where you would go and what you would do. There could only be one reason. Haha, now that ‘Old Xue’ is here, can I ask Boss Ye why he wants to go to ‘Fenglin City’? "

"Boss Xue, you have good eyesight." Afterimage could resist sitting still, but he could never refrain from interjecting. At this time, there were only three people in the pavilion: Ye Xuan, Xue Rui, and Can Ying.

Afterimage knew in his heart that this situation was different from that of the "Wu brothers". At that time, Mu, Ye, Fu, and Lu were sitting in the study leaning against the fireplace. A chair more than her was not much, and a chair less than her was not much. Today, even "Mu Qing'er" and "Xue Rang" have happily or been forced to avoid it. If the afterimages were to sit opposite, it would inevitably look too negligent.

In fact, it would be more appropriate to have such a confidential conversation without any afterimages. But Ye Xuan could only admit to himself helplessly and angrily that from some time ago, he would feel uneasy if she was not by his side during major events. But this time he had a better memory and would never let the afterimage steal the conversation completely.

"First, the statement can be made, but the inscription cannot be engraved. If 'Kurong City' is really taken away from the hands of the 'Xue Family', it can only be done by 'those people', then of course I will not care. Deterrence Just like a clear lock, you can guard against good people but not thieves. Presumably Boss Xue also meant this;

Second, the handover of the main city is limited to three years. During the handover period, the fiscal and tax surpluses will be shared equally between the two families;

Third, yes.

Boss Xue, if there are no objections to the big issues, let others deal with the minor issues. Let's start talking about that thing...that you really care about. "

This negotiation has been prepared for half a year. Compared with the previous two raids by the "Lu Family Father and Son" and the "Wu Family Brothers", Ye Xuan still feels much more comfortable even though the person sitting opposite him is the more scheming "Boss Xue". .

"Okay. In this case, I still have the same question as before. Why did Boss Ye move to Fenglin City?" Four hundred thousand gold, as far as the Xue family is concerned: hurting the muscles but not moving the bones. If it was just for this, Xue Rui could come or not.

The reason why I have to take this trip is because of two important links:

First, "Xue Rang" became the "Lord of Kurong City", which means that he put his "roots" in the northwest. Since then, the Xue family has been divided into two branches. The two legitimate sons of the same mother have spread their branches and fought against each other. Such an important decision cannot be made based on just a handwritten letter. Once a wanderer leaves and does not return home, even if it is thousands of miles away, he will personally see him off.

Thinking of the sharp eyes of the eldest son "Xue Qian"

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Mang, "Xue Rui" can almost conclude that "Lao Er" will never return to "Fenglin" in this life. Including when you die, especially when you die. If the businesses of the southern and northern sides of "Tonghui Bank" cannot be integrated, then I should use my remaining decades to help the two brothers... before I get too old and stupid.

Secondly, if it is as expected, if the "Konoha Family" really wants to move to "Fenglin", what on earth are these people going to do? Is it dangerous? Can we cooperate? He had to make sure he was the first to figure out the truth.

However, Ye Xuan gave him an incredible truth: "I want to do some... sea business."

"Xue Rui"'s face only stiffened for a moment: "Boss Ye, I believe you are not talking about 'fishing' and 'salting'. So, why do you want to do one? It has been proved impossible by the 'Empire' What about the things that work?"

The "Great Liang Empire" lasted for eight thousand years, and during its two thousand years of prosperity, the people of the "Rama Family" did many incredible things. The two most whimsical pieces were both made by the same emperor. They are the "Tower of Babel" and the "Great Exploration of the Sea". In comparison, "gathering flying stones from the sky" and "a network of letter crows covering the entire territory" are nothing to mention.

The ruins after the collapse of "Tatiantong" are still lying in the northern suburbs of "Liangcheng", enduring the mockery of the snow-capped mountains. The traces of the "Great Exploration of the Sea" can only be found in the lines of ancient books and historical materials.

The entire land north and south of the Tianhe River is in the shape of a bulge. There are many rugged cliffs near the sea, and there are only three shallow and long beaches that can accommodate giant shipyards lined up side by side: "Tianmo, Fenglin, and Yanbo". "Tianmo City" is located on the north bank of the "Tianhe Estuary" on the east side of the mainland. The two cities "Fenglin" and "Yanbo" are both at the southern end of the mainland.

In the 5,789th year of the "Liang Empire", Ramasha, the longest-lived emperor in history, made a great wish on the day he ascended the throne: "Let there be no unworthy country and no unknown territory in the world." He vowed to do this in the world. During his term of office, he conquered the Western Regions and explored the Mohai. "Ramasha" knew that it was absolutely impossible for the army to pass through the "Xiaoyun Mountains", so he did two things at the same time, hoping to explore the Mohai first and then map it with sea lanes.

The fishermen at that time already knew that the coast and offshore areas were densely covered with rocks. It is no longer easy to hide from the open reefs, and it is even more difficult to avoid the hidden reefs. Let alone giant ships, even large fishing boats with a slightly deeper draft will most likely never return once they enter the silent sea. Therefore, on the Mohai, all fishermen sail are small leaf boats that can carry at most four or five people. Since ancient times, I have never heard of anyone entering the depths of the Silent Sea.

Although "Xia Emperor" is ambitious, he is also pragmatic in details. The four fleets took "Tianmo" and "Yanbo" as ports respectively and headed east, south, west and north. The north and west fleets each sailed five thousand small leaf boats made of "red solid wood" and moved slowly along the coast. The fleets heading east and south each led two hundred "giant ships", and they rushed through the offshore "reef zone" like moths flying into the flames. Unexpectedly, the arrangement of "reefs" in the sea is dense and wide. Although the rocks become sparse as they get further away, they continue for hundreds of miles. Only one ship out of ten can enter the deep sea, and then return to port without a sail. Once in the sea of ​​silence, there is no news.

The "northbound" fleet explored the "frozen ice sheet" along the coast, but was unable to explore further along the ice bank and turned back. Even so, only two or three out of ten boats are lucky enough to return to Hong Kong.

The "Westward" fleet did indeed explore the "Western Regions", but the fleet leaders at the time had no idea whether what they found was actually the Western Regions. In that place that was clearly not part of the "Great Liang" territory, what the fleet saw was a "rain forest" and "barbarians" wearing animal skins and snake skins who didn't even know how to farm and didn't even have iron tools.

No one dared to go deep into the dense forest, so the small leaf boat continued along the coast. The terrain on the shore is getting higher and higher, almost like a cliff. At the same time, as you go westward, the offshore wind and waves become more and more violent. The rocks along the way were rugged, and even the small leaf boat, which had a very shallow draft and moved slowly, was damaged over time. In addition, the food was rotting and there was nowhere to supply supplies. The "westbound" fleet also turned around and returned home after losing more than 70% of its ships and sailors. When they returned to "Yanbo Port", there were only less than 10% of the remaining sailors, and they were even more miserable than the one who went to the "frozen soil".

With the increasing number of business trips to and from the "Xiaoyun Mountains", people in the Central Plains now know that most of the prosperous and civilized countries in the Western Region are concentrated in the central area. If the Central Plains is used as a yardstick, it is roughly "north of the Tianhe River and south of the Glacier River."

To the west of the Western Region is still the "Sea of ​​Silence". As in the Central Plains, the coast is mostly highlands with few shoals. The offshore is also subject to high winds and strong waves, and there are many exposed and hidden reefs. It is simply delusion to want to use "sea lanes" to trade. Not to mention that as more and more people practice Qi in the past few hundred years, the "business roads" on land are no longer as dangerous as they used to be.

Ye Xuan smiled slightly and replied: "I mean, we need to do some 'sea' business. It's not about doing business in the 'Western Regions' by sea."

"Xue Rui" no longer concealed the unreasonable look on his face. He knew that pretending to be indifferent at this moment would be more rude: "You mean... the east and the south?"

"Exactly."

Xue Rui didn't believe that Ye Xuan had not read the historical materials, but still reminded him softly: "Not a single ship from the empire's fleet came back."

Ye Xuan solemnly said: "They only tried once, and only tried two directions. You should know that if Mohai is really big, then east and south are not actually two directions, but infinite ones."

Xue Rui said coldly: "Infinitely many directions, infinitely many lives, infinitely many silver coins."

"Boss Xue, what business do you think is the most profitable in the world today?"

Xue Rui looked at Ye Xuan and didn't respond.

Ye Xuan continued: "There is no doubt that it is a bank. So, if there is a business that is more profitable than a bank, what do you think it would be? I think it can only be a business that 'doesn't exist at all'. Only by making something out of nothing can we It can make a million profits! Of course, this 'a profit' of a million dollars may be a little too big, and a little too small. But on this land, where are the 'idle fertile fields' and 'low-hanging fruits'?"

Xue Rui looked at Ye Xuan with a deep look: "Boss Ye, do you...know something?"

"Yes, I know. I know that every storyteller is laughing at the man who built the Tower of Babel; I

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Everyone who studies history thinks that "Rama's exploration of the sea" is to find the fairy island that idiots dream of, and to seek a way to grow.

Huh, so what? Rama's lineage came out of the snow-capped mountains in his early years and conquered the world at his fingertips. In my opinion, there is no difference in what the descendants did. They were just trying to get out of another bigger 'snow mountain'.

If you really think it's ridiculous, just think that I'm just spending money for fun. I got Rama's inheritance by chance, so I should do some stupid things...that only Rama would do. "

Xue Rui shook his head gently again, but his tone was more solemn: "Boss Ye, you surprised me. But now I at least understand why it has to be 'Fenglin'."

"Yes, the empire can build shipyards in 'Yanbo' and 'Tianmo', or even choose a cliff and fill the sea if they want. But I am just an ordinary businessman, except for 'Fenglin' , I have no second choice.”

"Yanbo" and "Tianmo" are both quite wealthy cities. However, although "Fenglin" is also called a "city", it is almost a small country. Many cities have their own specialties and expertise. For example, "Kurong City" is good at commerce and "Jingyue City" is good at counterfeiting. "Fenglin" is different, "Fenglin" has everything!

It was a place without walls, and it was so big that it was impossible to have walls; it had the largest population and the most money in the world, and it was so large that it was impossible to estimate it roughly like "Kurong City"; it was a place in the "big city" A place that began to prosper before the "Liang Empire" consolidated the whole territory; it was a place close to the "Mohai" and connected to the end of the "Tianhe Branch"; it was the hub of trade between the thirteen large and small cities in the southernmost part of the land. , it is a place where you can circulate and be self-sufficient without having to connect with others.

"Okay, even if 'Fenglin' ​​is the only choice. But you must know that there is a man named 'Feng Dazhao' living in 'Fenglin City' today, right? He thinks 'Mohai' is the 'Feng Family' Things, at least the area connected to Fenglin City, are all there."

Like "Cangcheng", "Fenglin City" has no city owner and is co-governed by the "Fenglin Chamber of Commerce" formed by various forces. And unlike "Cangcheng", the extension of "Fenglin City" fluctuates endlessly with the changes in business and people flow.

"Xue Rui" is undoubtedly the president of "Fenglin Chamber of Commerce"; "Xue Family" is undoubtedly the foundation and pillar of "Fenglin City". However, all this became questionable with the emergence of "Wind Spear" more than thirty years ago.

"I know. In order to turn his thoughts into facts, he killed 'Mei Rong'." After saying this lightly, Ye Xuan looked at "Xue Rui" gently, trying not to miss the slightest change in his expression. "Xue Rui" did not move, but the silence before speaking became longer.

"Guzhouke-Mei Rong" is a friend of the "Xue family". To be precise, he was a friend of "Xue Rui"'s father "Xue Chang" in his early years. Several generations of the "Mei family" have been engaged in fishing and salt business in "Fenglin City". Before the "Wu Brothers" became known to the world, "Mei Rong" could be regarded as the most indifferent and idle "locust plague" in the world.

This person's biggest hobby is to go to the "deep sea" in a lonely boat and catch some strange fish that no one has ever seen. The boat was often capsized by waves, so he swam back to the shore alone, changed to a smaller boat, and started again.

"Mei Rong" is engaged in fishing and salt business, but never interferes with others. Even he ignored his own shopkeeper. When he was fishing alone in a boat, he spent most of his time in the gambling house. However, his gambling skills are extremely poor, but his gambling products are good. The family property passed down from his ancestors gradually lost all to him over the years.

"Xue Rui" then took the opportunity to introduce "Mei Rong" to the "Fenglin Chamber of Commerce", and used his position as president to arrange for a new "seat" for him in the chamber of commerce. "Mei Rong" promised to use his The power to protect "Fenglin".

This move can be said to kill three birds with one stone:

First, use the silver from the Chamber of Commerce to support "Mei Rong";

Secondly, for the additional seat, the "voting" will be decided entirely by "Xue Rui". In fact, the seats of the "Xue family" were increased from the original "three seats" to "four seats" out of thin air;

Thirdly, although "Mei Rong" is not a sword, it is an extremely solid shield. With his promise, the already powerful "Fenglin City" will be in no danger in the future.

All kinds of ingenuity are not as cruel as a single sword. Just two years later, in front of all the "executives", a tall and thin man threw "Mei Rong's" head on the "five-foot-long agarwood" in the meeting hall of the "Fenglin Chamber of Commerce". On top of the wooden table.

"How do you plan to convince 'Wind Spear' to let you use his sea?" Xue Rui asked meaningfully.

"As the fishermen and salt merchants do, I will do the same. The sea is his, the beach is his, and the port is his. I just pay the money." Ye Xuan said lightly, like a arrogant dandy who relied on his family's money.

Xue Rui shook his head: "I'm afraid it won't be that simple."

"how?"

Xue Rui took a sip of tea and deliberately made his movements appear sluggish and slow: "Boss Ye, you should understand what I mean."

"Boss Xue, there is no one else here, let's not be dumb. Only when you speak clearly can I understand." After saying that, the two of them looked directly into each other's eyes. For a long time, I didn't say a word.

In the end, it was the afterimage standing by, no matter how hard it was to bear the maddening silence: "You don't speak, then I will speak..."

Exile Diary - Excerpt (63)

My stomach was bulging day by day, but I stopped vomiting at all and felt much more comfortable than before. With nothing to do, I started training Anesse. I don't have any real energy in my body, so I don't know how to teach her, so I can only force her to do difficult things.

For example, shooting flying rocks while running, standing on one finger to avoid the rocks I throw, hanging on slender branches without breaking... That's all I can think of, and Anese can do it after a while. But I always feel that something is wrong.

In addition, I also continued something that I had not been able to complete on the ship - teaching Anese to write.

(End of this chapter)