Realm of Power

Rain dripped from the eaves on both sides of the street, hitting the ground with a rustling sound.

There are lanterns one after another, tables one after another, and many people. It’s just that today’s atmosphere is a little different. After all, it’s still lively, but it’s just not as lively as it was in the past. Situations and people have their own invisible areas. Only the most heartless people can take wine bottles and eat and drink as much as they want

After the hot July, the weather has begun to feel cooler, and it is no longer hot enough. In the past few days, the situation on Dijing West Road, which was originally agitated due to the entry of the Liuchenggang family, has gradually calmed down. Behind this silence, sensitive businessmen can faintly feel a murderous atmosphere pressing over the entire city. , the Liuchenggang family has shown signs of decline. Even the Lu family, the number one in Liuchenggang, has closed its doors to no one. The depression and tranquility before the great change

On the other hand, the Anjia Banquet sent invitations to the entire Dijing West Road business community. At this point in time, the latter may attract more people's attention than the former.

"Will the Lu family come?"

Some people had speculated before whether the Lu family would attend the Anjia banquet, but the final conclusion was that they would not. What are you doing here to bring shame on yourself?

Don't forget, this is Dijing West Road, the most prosperous core of former Central Asia. If we really want to talk about family status, a small southern family with only a third grade is nothing here! Do you know that Mr. Luo who is showing the door to the An family now? He is the head of the Luo family. Although the Luo family had not yet entered the status of a first-class family at that time, it was still a second-class family in the past hundred years. Even the people in the palace Both the empress and the queen are members of the Luo family, so what if they were once glorious, but the Yelu family on the grassland moved all the way south, and the second and third-rank northern families were uprooted. It is considered good that one of the Luo family can survive. What more could you ask for!

But news came out that the An family's big banquet, the head of the Lu family, Lu Yangyu, would come in person.

This news is absolutely shocking. If Lu Yangyu really comes, he will not be crushed by the An family. As for Lu Yangyu’s identity as a deacon of the Imperial Bank, it is meaningless to most Chinese and Bian businessmen. , it would be great if merchants had business alliances, the Imperial Bank is simply superfluous.

"Master, Lu Yangyu has already passed the Lihua Pastry Shop. We can reach Anjia in twenty minutes. Should we go to Anjia?"

The An family's housekeeper respectfully opened the door in front of him and reported to a middle-aged man who was sitting on a huge rosewood-colored armchair with his eyes closed to relax. Hearing the housekeeper's voice, the middle-aged man's eyes opened. He opened the door, took a deep breath, stood up from the huge red sandalwood chair, hesitated for a moment, and asked in a solemn voice, "Lu Yangyu went alone." , or did you bring someone else with you? ""Except for the carriage driver, there is only one person, Lu Yangyu," the housekeeper said with some disdain. "Now that the Lu family has deserted their relatives, the aristocratic families of Liuchenggang are avoiding the Lu family because they are afraid of Anjia. Even if Yang Yu wanted to bring more people to support him, he would never be able to do it now!

When the middle-aged man heard that Lu Yangyu was going to the Anjia banquet alone, his face seemed to have been burned by a red-hot iron and became quite ugly. After walking back and forth for a few steps, he said with a wry smile, "If we were going to the entire Lu family , or it’s nothing, but just went to Lu Yangyu, and the problem here is bigger. I know that the Lu family’s sudden change of attitude is not simple, but I didn't expect Lu Yangyu to be so ruthless. He wanted to drag the entire Imperial Capital West Road in! "" The family owner is worried too much. If Lu Yangyu can prevent the other three forces from swallowing him up, it's good. , if the Imperial Bank came forward, or the An family would still be more scrupulous, now Lu Yangyu is alone, what else can he do? "The butler's face was stunned, you know what happened in front of him The identity of this middle-aged man is shocking even if it is placed on the Imperial Capital West Road. Most of the trade routes to the north are also in the hands of Shame. The entire dark forces on the Imperial Capital West Road are the wings of this person. , the weapons and ammunition that have passed through the hands of middle-aged people and been sold to various grassland ministries through the black market over the years are probably enough to equip an army of more than 300,000 people." Silly, if There are people from the Imperial Bank who are also going. Do you think the An family dares to take action? But if it is just Lu Yangyu, even if Lu Yangyu is the deacon of the Imperial Bank, if a person suddenly appears and kills him without any guards, that is killing him. Well, if you find an excuse afterwards, what can the Imperial Bank do?" The middle-aged man let out a cold breath and snorted with a ferocious look on his face!

"No way, why did they kill Lu Yangyu?" The housekeeper also felt the seriousness and said quickly, "What do you know? The Imperial Bank's duty is to supervise the business alliance. In the past few years, everyone has been thriving on Dijing West Road. He is just like the local emperor of Imperial Capital West Road. As long as it is beneficial, he will dare to do anything. Now that the Imperial Bank is here, do you think the other three major families will let an Imperial Bank bully them?

The middle-aged man glanced at his mouth angrily and amusingly. He was tall and thin, with slender limbs and a cold expression. His eyes were deep and unpredictable, giving him a cold and ruthless impression, but he also had a shocking domineering air. He is Kumi Li Er, the Kumi Li Er who is known as the pass of the Northern Trade Road, and is also the controller of the dark forces of the Imperial Capital West Road.

His real name is Li Er, a very common name. Before the Yelu family went south, he was just a small gangster in the Biadijing area in Central China. If the Yelu family hadn't gone south and the current situation was turbulent, Li Er might have been a gangster Li Er. Who knows Yelu When the family went south, not only did they sweep away the Central and Bian nobles in the Imperial Capital area, but even the dark forces in the Imperial Capital area were killed. It was Li Er who saw that the Yelu family urgently needed to exchange the looted wealth for materials and armaments, so he recommended himself and pulled the strings. In the end, all the proceeds of the Yelu family were sold to the imperial business group and redeemed by the Central and Asian sides. Li Er From both sides, he was recognized by the Yelu Group, and he dominated the trade route to the north. His power grew rapidly, and he seemed to be on par with the other three companies.

But this is where Li Er’s cunning lies. Although he started as a small person, he knows very well that his rise is only because of the needs of the Yelu family. Now that the Yelu family has become the king’s court, in order to please the Yelu family, Li Er even changed his A grassland surname, Kumi. The Kumi clan is a vassal of the Yelu family. The Yelu family was able to recover in just a few years and even drive the army to the Northern Expedition. The sufficient financial resources provided by Kumi Li Er were also part of it. With this relationship, Kumi Li Er was one of the few who passed through the Yelu family's intelligence network. People who know that the Imperial Army has left Yanzhou North, why do the Imperial Army go south?

Kumei Li Er didn't think about the Imperial Capital West Road at first. The imperial army entered the big river, maybe for the war in the south. His current responsibility is to fully support Yelu Qiyeguang's battle against Dongbo, transporting the imperial army from the Imperial Capital area to the northern route. The transportation was directly handed over to Kumi Li Er, and he returned to Dijing West Road. Part of it was because he heard that the Liuchenggang family was spending a lot of money, and wanted to see if he could make some profit.

However, the Liuchenggang family did not trust him at all and encountered several weak points. On the other hand, they wanted to take advantage of the commercial convenience of Dijing West Road to gather more food and grass for the Yelu family for winter operations. Although Dongbo did not It wasn't big, but Yelu Qiyeguang couldn't swallow it in a short time. The temperature in the north had begun to drop, and there were signs of early winter. Then Kumai Li Er, who was in charge of transportation, saw that the empire's 80,000 cavalry came from Yan. A straight line from the north of the state rolled towards Dijing West Road.

"I won't go to Anjia. Prepare the carriage and horses and leave the city immediately."

Kumei Li Er raised his hand angrily. The dangerous atmosphere brought to him here made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He was already considered a member of the Kumei clan and was trusted by the Yelu family. The Yelu family even united with the northern tribes to When we entered the grassland, he was the one sent to contact the various ministries. Naturally, he was from the Yelu family. The intelligence network knew what a huge force stood behind Lu Yangyu, the seemingly unsupported Imperial Bank deacon, so when the Lu family arrived at Dijing West Road, Kumi Li Er issued a strict order not to provoke the Lu family. There were even a few times when he saw Lu Yangyu walking around, fearing that Lu Yangyu would see him.

Ku Mi Li Ercai didn't believe that a bureaucrat like Lu Yangyu, who had been forged like blue steel, with such a huge backer, would be stupid enough to bow to the so-called three major forces. If he didn't bow his head, it would be a showdown! According to the nature of the three major families, they must take action against the Lu family. To take action against Lu Yangyu is to take action against the Imperial Bank. The Empire has a reputation for success!

It's ridiculous that the other three major families thought that Lu Yangyu was just a little deacon who could be bullied at will, but they didn't know the person behind him. Even just extending a finger was enough to crush Dijing West Road into powder. Don't get involved if you want to die. Others, Kumeili Er's keen sense of smell smelled the smell of blood coming from the rain all over the sky. Everyone said that the grassland people were cruel, but as a Central Asian who had been accepted by the grassland people, Kumei Li Er knew better that the grassland people and Compared to the empire, it pales in comparison! "Bah bang bang"

The burning bamboo joints made bursting sounds, "throwing red," and then large pieces of expensive bright red silk satin were thrown down from the heights of the Anjia mansion. Countless hands below were scrambling for these. Grab the big red satin. "The people below were crowded with each other and making all kinds of noises. The people who grabbed it were so happy that they immediately ran to the silk shop across the street to change money. These are the best satins, and they are expensive. Even if the price is lowered by the store, it is enough for an ordinary family of four to use for a month. Those who did not grab it all were dejected, and they held their heads high to take a look. Are there any lost silks? "Okay, okay, it's all gone, no more, it's all polished." A team of Anjia's guards ran over and dispersed the people who were crowded here and refused to leave.

Anjia's mansion is located in the most prosperous Luocheng Street on Dijing West Road. It is said to be an alley, but in fact, it has been expanded by Anjia several times. It is already the most prosperous main street in the city, with a length of 600 meters. The road is wide enough for six carriages to run parallelly. The doors of the shops on both sides without exception have a lantern with the word "An" hanging on them, indicating that they are all Anjia's properties and no one has Everyone knows how much money the An family has, but they all predict that it will be at least three million gold, because just at the beginning of the year, they bought an imperial crown from the black market that was said to be the emperor of the former Confederate Empire of the Western Continent. The richest man among the four major forces on the West Road, and in this battle to devour the wealth of the Liuchenggang family, the An family accounted for more than 50% of the wealth of the Liuchenggang family.

This is also the reason why the other Xiao and Wei families agreed to join forces with the An family. If the An family is allowed to continue like this, the Lu family may also be doomed. How can such a big fat man be monopolized by the An family?

The Lu family is the head of the Liucheng Port family, and has ruled the city for decades. The amount of royal taxes sent to the court through the Lu family every year reaches three to four million, and how much the Lu family has embezzled from it, I'm afraid no one except the Lu family knows, compared with them, what are those Liuchenggang aristocratic families? The An family didn't know the relationship between the Lu family and the Lu family, so they didn't know that the Lu family's decades of wealth had been supporting the Lu family. The Lu family was able to become a military town in southern China, suppressing the southern mountains and not daring to advance. The family's financial resources are indispensable. Otherwise, how could the Lu family become rich so quickly with the help of a bunch of warriors from the Lu family who are not engaged in production?

So the Lu family actually has very little money and really no connections. Lu Yangyu believes that even if he tells the truth, no one will believe him. The carriage stopped. Lu Yangyu rubbed his temples, raised his feet, and stepped out of the carriage under almost countless pairs of eyes. Yes, when I saw it, it was Lu Yangyu. There was a sound of gratitude all around, "The Lu family is really here?" "Are you kidding, pretending to be poor? It can't be like this. The dignified first family in Liucheng Port is now attending the Anjia banquet with one person and one car. Compared with the momentum of the Anjia family, which is full of guests and aristocratic family gatekeepers, this kind of Lu family is no longer stingy, but shabby. I don’t know what the An family likes about the Lu family, so they insist on marrying such a stingy Lu family! ""What do you know? The Lu family is the first family in Liucheng Port! If you look at other Liuchenggang aristocratic families, you will know that the Lu family's wealth is probably much greater. As long as they marry the Lu family, according to the strength of the An family, they will definitely be able to drain the Lu family dry. As for the Miss Lu family , it’s just a tool, no one will dare to ask even after they die in a few years.” There were a lot of discussions around, and everyone seemed to have their own opinions on the Lu family’s participation in the Anjia banquet. Nowadays, it is well known to everyone on Dijing West Road that the An family, the head of the Liuchenggang family, has been rejected ten times even after being invited. According to such rumors, the Lu family is regarded by everyone as an aloof and antique family that does not understand change. , What can a third- and fourth-grade family be proud of? Do you really think it is still the family system of China and Biya? "It turned out to be Lu Yangyu?"

There were also people from the Liuchenggang family nearby. They recognized that the person getting out of the car was Lu Yangyu, and they were suddenly shocked. They thought that even if someone from the Lu family dared to come to the banquet, they would at most be someone with a certain status, but they didn't expect that it was the head of the Lu family." This Lu Yangyu, when we are suffering, we just shrink our heads and sit back. Seeing that we have been swallowed up by the An family, and now we are pretending to be alone at the banquet, showing off our Qingliu state, it is obvious that we want the entire Dijing West Road to think that the An family is superior to the Lu family, and they are obviously here to see our joke! " Some of them looked angrily and said, "The Lu family is really nothing!"

Someone next to him spat on the ground and said through gritted teeth, "The entire Dijing West Road knew that it was the An family who took the initiative to request a marriage with the Lu family, but few people knew that when the An family embezzled us, the Liuchenggang family, they kidnapped them from the family." How many women have been forced to repay their debts? It’s pitiful. After my daughter fell into the An family, she was first treated as a maid, and then disappeared for a few days. Later I found out that she was given as a gift by the An family. If there was no indifference from the Lu family here, my Liuchenggang family would never do it. Being in such a situation "Yes, the Lu family is so hateful"

The aristocratic families are itching their teeth. They dare not settle down. The settlement relies on the convenience of the six cities and ports in China and Libya. It controls 30% of the sea trade between China and Libya. In this turbulent world, weapons and materials, population slaves , no one would dare to get involved without Anjia. After a few years, Anjia has already become an out-and-out behemoth, but in the past, in Nan Fang Liucheng Port has a traditional order, but the families of Liucheng Port have not yet felt it. Now that they have lost the suppression of the system, these self-esteemed families of Liucheng Port find themselves in front of a powerful businessman like Anjia. In fact, they are nothing, but they still have the courage to face the Lu family, who are obviously no better than chickens.

Hearing various sounds in his ears, Lu Yangyu's face remained calm and unwavering. He raised his head and glanced at the huge red door before stepping in. He was completely willing to risk his life. Either he would be buried with thousands of people after death, or he would fly into the sky without death. Anyway, no matter which one, the three major families will be wiped out 8)