Overlord's Road to Ancient Emperors

Li Xu smiled, and suddenly saw Kou Xiao leaning on a tree trunk and staring at him, he didn't know when he came, it was only half a day away, why did he chase after him.

He smiled at Kou Xiao and said loudly, "Is General Kou here to look for me?"

Kou Xiao walked over, the crowd immediately gave way to him and saluted one after another, Kou Xiao waved his hand, and went straight to Li Xu, "I can't bear to disturb the prince's business, Kou is here to eat delicious food, the guys outside don't give Kou face .”

Li Xu guessed what was going on, and explained: "It is my king's rule that you must line up to buy food, otherwise it will cause trouble if the order is disordered." He called Liu Shu and ordered: "You take General Kou to the restaurant first, The king will arrive soon."

Seeing that they had something to talk about, Kou Xiao left with Liu Shu first, but instead of going to the restaurant, Kou Xiao asked Liu Shu to take him on a tour of the new palace.

He had seen the blueprints of the new palace. At the time, he thought it was extremely rudimentary. Looking at it now, it was even more rudimentary than imagined. The square house, the flat courtyard without even a grass, was uninteresting. It seemed King Shun didn't intend to build this place into a palace from the very beginning, so did he plan to live in Kou's mansion for a lifetime?

After entering the tofu shop, Kou Xiao looked at it for a long time, "It turns out that tofu is made in this way, and it's not difficult to look at."

Liu Shu said proudly: "That's because this is the method my prince came up with, and it's naturally simple and good."

Kou Xiao ate a bowl of sweet tofu nao, and he agreed with Liu Shu's words. He didn't like to eat bean rice before, and this stuff swelled his stomach and easily ruined his stomach. Unexpectedly, the prince turned waste into treasure, which greatly improved the quality of this bean. usefulness.

After watching the tofu workshop, Kou Xiao went to the closed brown sugar workshop and asked Liu Shu how the brown sugar was made. The other party replied him "no comment on commercial secrets", which made Kou Xiao's teeth itch with hatred.

There are also several large kitchens in this palace, which are specially used to invent new food for King Shun, like today’s roast chicken, Kou Xiao saw the stove, a blast furnace built with earth, with charcoal burning underneath, hanging on the furnace wall There are circles of roasted chickens, each chicken is not big, and its limbs are spread out and fixed on the bamboo frame. There are hired workers who keep smearing sauce on the chicken. There was a crackling sound.

"This chicken doesn't look like a pheasant." Kou Xiao led troops out on weekdays, often hunted wild game, and ate a lot of pheasants, so he saw that they were different.

Liu Shu explained: "This is a domestic chicken raised in captivity by a farmer. It has only been raised for about three months and is still tender. The prince paid a lot of money to round it up, but he only got a few hundred chickens. If he wants to eat next time, he will have to wait for the next batch. The chick has grown up."

"You can let the people go up to the mountains to hunt pheasants. Wild animals are hard to hunt, and the mountains are full of pheasants."

"You don't understand this. Pheasant chicken is old and woody, and has a strong smell. It is not as tender and delicious as domestic chicken. Not only pheasant, but other game meat is actually not as good as domestic. Have you ever eaten braised pork? Official braised pork The meat is better cooked with domestic pig meat."

This is the first time Kou Xiao heard this saying. There are many mountains in South Vietnam, and there are many wild beasts and prey in the mountains and forests. Therefore, there are very few people raising livestock in captivity, and some of them can't finish eating from the mountains. Raise some.

"Since the prince sold these few foods, the common people have started raising poultry and livestock."

Kou Xiao felt that Li Xu was a very amazing person, with a set of theories. He didn't know whether it was because Nanyue was too backward or he was ignorant. Many things that seemed difficult to him were very simple for him.

"It's getting late, my servant will take you to the restaurant, it's time for lunch."

Kou Xiao saw that he ordered the cook to take out three roast chickens from the stove, and then went to the next door to order the dishes to be served, so he took him to the restaurant, thinking about it, and asked: "Mr. Liu has been serving King Shun since he was a child. King Shun must have a deep understanding."

"Don't dare, the lord is hiding everything, how can I wait for a slave to see through it."

Well, in terms of flattery, Kou Xiao really has to obey Liu Shu.

In fact, Liu Shu really doesn't understand Li Xu now. Since he came out of the palace, his highness has completely changed, but this is a good thing, there is nothing to worry about.

The restaurant here is actually a staff canteen. Those who work in the palace or work as shop assistants can have a free Chinese meal in the canteen. If they work overtime, dinner is also included.

When Kou Xiao entered the restaurant, there were already three tables full. He could tell by his clothes that he was a hired worker working here. When he saw someone coming, he knelt down to salute in a polite manner, and then sat in a chair in a regular manner without looking sideways. A sense of discipline.

Kou Xiao looked curiously at the tables and chairs in the dining room. The chairs and tables here are much higher than usual, and it must be the idea of ​​King Shun again.

He was about to ask a question when he saw Li Xu waving to him in the cubicle, Kou Xiao went in and sat down, moved his butt, he didn't know how to place his long legs, and asked curiously: "Why are the tables and chairs so tall? "

At this time, the tables and chairs that everyone used to eat and chat were very short. The chairs were basically futons spread out on the floor, and they had to sit on their knees to eat. Li Xu was not used to such a sitting posture, so he hired a carpenter to make such tables and chairs. , Let everyone free their legs.

"It's so comfortable." Li Xu stretched his legs, bent his knees, and showed Kou Xiao a demonstration.

Kou Xiao moved his feet, he was not used to it for a while, but when he stood up again after a meal, he would know the benefits of this table and chair.

I usually kneel and sit for a long time, and my legs are prone to numbness when I stand up. This kind of chair will not. When I look at other people, they all have a comfortable expression. I want to change all the tables and chairs at home and in the military camp.

"How does this grilled chicken taste?" Li Xu asked him.

Kou Xiao licked his lower lip, it seemed that there was still a residual fragrance on it, "It's very delicious."

Li Xu himself ate two chicken legs, which were tender and juicy, much better than the modern Orleans roast chicken.

The free-range chickens raised in this farm taste really good. They are fed naturally, have no hormones or drug residues, and are safe to eat. Li Xu also kept two chickens for soup at night.

He originally wanted to invite Kou Xiao to his house for dinner at night, but he changed his mind silently when he saw the chicken bones spread out in front of him. Those two chickens were not enough for this kid to eat, so forget it.

In the afternoon, Li Xu and Lei Yang had another two-hour meeting before returning home. The little princess just woke up and was very happy to see her father come back. She relied on him to play shuttlecock and then told him, "Father Wang, Shu'er has made a few good friends recently, can you invite them to come to the mansion for classes?"

"As long as Mr. Ji agrees, my father has no objection." Li Xu thought for a while, called Ji Hanyu, and told him about giving evening classes to Kou Jiajun.In his opinion, if Ji Hanyu wants to enter politics, it is best to go to the military camp to get acquainted with a few generals first, and it is best to get their support. In this way, it will be easy to borrow troops in the future, and he will have enough confidence.

Ji Hanyu's eyes turned red when he heard that he had arranged his own way properly. In his life, only two people treated him well. The first one was Mr. Lu Shan, who took him in and brought him up. Some of them couldn't even do it as teachers and students, and there was King Shun, who gave him a shelter in times of crisis, and now he was always thinking of him, how could he not be moved.

"Thank you, my lord, for cultivating it, Xiaosheng will never forget it."

"Don't say these things are useless. I will pave the way for you, and I need you to be competent. If you don't do well, you should come back and teach children how to read. Don't be burdened. The more things you can do, the more things you can do. Naturally, you will benefit more. By the way, your monthly money will increase to five taels, and you can reimburse your pen, ink, paper and inkstone on weekdays. You can eat three meals a day in the mansion or in the military camp. I have explained both sides. There are soldiers and horses to pick them up, this treatment is not bad."

Ji Hanyu felt that he hadn't done anything, and he was a little guilty of getting five taels of silver a month, "My lord, Xiaosheng doesn't need much money, and the monthly money doesn't need to be too much."

Li Xu laughed loudly. This was the first time he had heard that the salary was too high. After laughing, he joked: "You are old enough to consider starting a family. You should save the money to marry a wife. If you want to get a wife from here Just move out and say something."

Ji Hanyu's face turned red, and he held back for a long time before saying, "Why do you start a family before you start a career? There's no rush, no rush."

Li Xu didn't care about other people's private affairs, he let him go after explaining clearly, and then asked Liu Shu to pack his luggage.

While busy, Liu Shu complained, "The prince is too unkind. Lai San's monthly payment has risen to [-] taels. Why is Mr. Ji still lower than them?"

Sitting aside, Li Xuduan took a pen to write down a recruitment notice, "Why don't you say it, you're getting an annual salary now."

"This..." Liu Shu smiled "hehe", beautifully bubbling, although his wallet is still flat, but when he thought of the amount he would get at the end of the year, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"Lai San and the others are now small stewards. A monthly salary increase should be expected. Ji Hanyu is still a low-level teacher. When he becomes an official in the future, the tide will naturally increase."

"That's right, Mr. Ji is a great talent, and I can't compare with him."

Li Xu didn't tell him that an official may not be rich in business. If Lai San and the others can be regional managers, they will definitely earn more money than ordinary officials. As for Liu Shu, as long as he is around for a day, he will be hardworking. Special assistance, the kind of salary and bonus offered casually, how many people can't fawn on and envy them.

After writing the recruitment notice, Li Xu asked Liu Shu to take it to Lei Yang, and asked him to carry out talent recruitment in the whole of South Vietnam. After he came back from inspection, he could interview.

Liu Shu glanced at it and yelled strangely: "My lord, you... you want to recruit thousands of people?"

"Yes, there is a shortage of people everywhere. We need to recruit more at one time, and these people have to go through training before they can take up the job. Some positions will not be qualified for a year. Naturally, we have to make plans first."

"We still have to pay for their round-trip travel expenses. This is not a small amount."

"Isn't it because they don't have the money to come here? As long as we can recruit enough talents, the money is nothing."

"Then where are they going to live after they've recruited them? You haven't even seen your palace yet."

Li Xu knocked on him, "Why does this king let them live in the palace? There are so many empty rooms in the old palace, and it can accommodate hundreds of people if you just mess around. Besides, most of these people want to live in the palace." Expatriates don’t need to stay for a long time, let them live in various inns when they come, and let Lei Yang handle this matter.”

"Okay." Liu Shu dawdled for a long time before leaving, and waited for Li Xu to lose his temper before asking in a low voice, "My lord, will you like the new and dislike the old when you have other servants in the future?"

Li Xu looked at him amusedly, "Why, do you feel the pressure of competition?"

Liu Shu doesn't understand what competitive pressure is, but he is really afraid that he will fall out of favor. He is an eunuch, and he can only follow Li Xu for the rest of his life. What if the prince has a slave he likes more?

Li Xu beckoned him to come to him, "I've given you two choices, you can go back and think about it carefully. One is to manage the shop for me like Lai San and the others. When the business grows in the future, you will naturally be a The chief steward holds the economic power of the palace, and there is another one, that is to follow the king and be a servant who is always on call, saddling the horse and riding the horse for the king, although it looks beautiful, but in fact it is a small thing."

Liu Shu vowed: "Don't think about it, the slaves will follow you. Your daily life is beyond the reach of ordinary people. Can they know what kind of clothes you like to wear and what kind of food you like to eat? They know that your every day Do you have to bathe in hot water every day? Do they know that you like to ride in a carriage instead of riding a horse when you go out? Do they know that you don't like beautiful women but beautiful men? This slave will be the chief steward of the palace in the future. promise."

The corner of Li Xu's mouth twitched, and he asked him: "Who said that the king likes beautiful men but not beautiful women?" This is a rumor.

Liu Shu wrung his fingers and said, "My servant has never seen you treat any beautiful women preferentially. On the contrary, Mr. Ji, General Kou and the like, you are very kind to them, and you are not angry that General Kou molested you."

Li Xu rubbed his forehead, wanting to say that it was not called indecent, at most it was just teasing, and he didn't have real bullets, so he could still kill people.

Besides, he couldn't beat Kou Xiao either.

"Okay, you'd better go out, I want to be quiet."

Liu Shu ran away, leaving Li Xu dumbfounded.

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The next day, Li Xu asked Lei Ming and Lei Zhan to have dinner at Fulai Restaurant. Last time, Lei Zhan had a soft spot at Fulai Restaurant. This time, he was not going to let him go. He happened to have formal contact with Lei Ming to test his position. .

He changed into a dark blue woven satin coat with a few clumps of green bamboo embroidered in addition to the pattern, looking very gentlemanly, when he went out, he saw Kou Xiao wearing a red suit walking towards him.

"My lord is going out?" Kou Xiao asked, cupping his hands.

Li Xu took a look at him. It was the first time he saw Kou Xiao wearing such a coquettish bag. People with dark skin in bright red clothes can't hold it. Fortunately, Kou Xiao has wheat-colored skin, so he didn't think it was too abrupt. And he is tall and straight, with a standard model figure, like a clothes hanger.

He thought that if he entered the clothing industry in the future, he might find Kou Xiao as his spokesperson.

"I'm going out, and I have an appointment with two Lord Leis to have lunch together." Li Xu didn't hide it, rolled his eyes, and asked with a smile: "Does General Kou have time to go to the appointment together?"

Kou Xiao was originally looking for Li Xu for lunch, but when he heard that the two brothers from the Lei family were there, he suddenly had some small thoughts, "Will you disturb the prince to discuss business?"

"We're talking about the matter of Yantian, and the general just happens to be a staff member together."

"Then the general will have the audacity to interrupt."

Fulai Restaurant is indeed the best and largest restaurant in Fujian Province. It was full of customers at noon. When Li Xu arrived, he saw the shopkeeper waiting at the door. He came to greet him with a smile, but when he saw Kou Xiao behind him, his face changed instantly. The smile almost couldn't hold back. .

Li Xu glanced back and teased, "General Kou doesn't seem very popular."

Kou Xiao folded his hands on his chest, looked at the shopkeeper coldly and asked, "You don't welcome this general?"

"No, no, how dare the little one, but I didn't expect the general to come with me, so please come inside."

Li Xu made a reservation in advance, entered the private room and closed the door, but still couldn't stop the noise in the lobby, the shopkeeper's face was ashen, and asked: "Can you clear the room?"

Li Xu pointed to the private rooms on the left and right, "Are there any guests in these two rooms?"

"There are two adults who have made reservations, but they haven't come yet."

"Then trouble you to tell them that these two rooms are not open to the public if they are useful to you."

The shopkeeper responded, "Do you want to serve the food now?"

"The people haven't arrived yet, so wait."

Kou Xiao was unhappy, "There's no reason to let the prince wait for them, it's better to let them serve the food first."

"No hurry, we came early, I made an appointment at noon."

Kou Xiao knew in his heart that if he asked Lei Ming to talk about something, and he said it was noon, Lei Ming would never dare to come until noon. This is still bullying Li Xu because he is not familiar with the place.

But the Lord is not angry and he is not good at saying anything, so he just asks the bodyguards to guard the door so that no one will disturb him.

Li Xu stopped him and said, "Let them eat next door, just leave one person on duty at the door, don't miss the meal time."

Kou Xiao would not refuse such a trivial matter, but he just thought that the prince is still too soft-hearted after all.

It started to rain lightly outside the window, Kou Xiao asked Xiao Er to serve fruit wine, and poured a glass for Li Xu himself, "This is fruit wine made from more than a dozen kinds of fruits. It tastes sweet and easy to drink. You can try it."

Li Xu had drank the fruit wine here before. It tasted good and had a strong aftertaste, but it was not as enjoyable as drinking white wine. However, the grain production in South Vietnam was really not high. Kou Xiao issued a decree that the people were not allowed to use grain to make wine, which violated the law. All of them will be exiled to Lingnan.

Lingnan is in the south of Nanyue. It is a real place of smog, and it is also a place where the imperial court exiles criminals. The people are tough and bandits are rampant.

Kou Xiao drank a large glass in one gulp, "The general once drank fine wine from the Northland. It tastes mellow and full of stamina. It is far from comparable to fruit wine. However, food is precious, and soldiers in the army can't eat enough. There is no extra food for wine making. .”

Li Xu expressed his understanding, but he wanted to say that you can't make a fortune by saving money. South Vietnam has a vast land and rich resources, and the land is fertile. If it weren't for the low productivity, it really shouldn't be like this.But the process of history always develops slowly step by step.A hundred years ago, Nanyue was still a group of aborigines, and the seven tribes were constantly in dispute. It was not until the Shuai army, the founder of the Dayan Dynasty, occupied this place that Nanyue was included in the territory.

But because of South Vietnam's special geographical environment, humid and hot, there are many snakes, insects, rats and ants, and a little carelessness can cause epidemics, so the court didn't take this land seriously, and let him fend for himself.

"General Kou, don't worry, South Vietnam has plenty of rain and lush vegetation. As long as you work hard, you won't have to worry about food shortages."

Kou Xiao also knew that Li Xu planted experimental fields in the outskirts of the farm. He heard that he had used unprecedented methods, but he didn't understand farming and couldn't see how to do it. He only hoped that it would increase food production as he said.

"South Vietnam grows rice, and north grows wheat. The farming methods of the two are not the same." He thought that Li Xu was using the experience of farming in the north to use in the south. If this is the case, his hope may be slim.

"Naturally, it is different. Rice needs to be cultivated in paddy fields, and it can be harvested twice or even three times a year. In the next step, the king will issue a notice to check the population and encourage land reclamation. The current planting area is too small."

"It's not easy to do."

"Everything is difficult at the beginning, as long as it is beneficial, the people will definitely be willing to open up wasteland."

Kou Xiao shook his head, "No matter how many fields are opened, it is useless if there are not enough people to cultivate them."

Li Xu picked up his wine glass and took a small sip, showing a little smile, "So, it is imminent to increase the farming speed. All these require a lot of money, and if you don't have money, you can't do it."

Kou Xiao saw that he had a plan in mind, and was also curious about how he would change the status quo of Nanyue. If Nanyue was a stagnant pool in the past, since King Shun came, it seemed to have come back to life.

He believes more and more that Li Xu can transform South Vietnam into a paradise, which is really exciting.

Kou Xiao got up and walked to the window, looking at the busy and poor people on the street outside, a surge of pride surged in his heart, the person he likes is so great, it is great to serve the people wholeheartedly.

On the street, a group of people walked boldly, and all the people on the street gave way to them. Kou Xiao naturally recognized that it was Lei Ming's guards, and frowned slightly, his good mood dissipated instantly.

Li Xu only takes two people with him when he goes out, Liu Shu and the guard surnamed Mu, and he only has four personal guards to follow him when he goes out. wait for him.

Kou Xiao closed the window with a bang, and seeing Li Xu turned to look at him, he said coldly, "Brother Lei Ming is here."

Li Xu asked with a half-smile, "This Lei Zhan and Lei Ming are brothers?"

"Well, Lei Zhan is the eldest brother, and Lei Ming is the fourth in the family."

"Oh, no wonder there is a big age difference."

The Lei Ming brothers entered the door one after the other, they were all stunned when they saw Kou Xiao, Kou Xiao put down his wine glass heavily, and said with a smile on his lips: "You guys came on time." Just after noon, it was still late.

Lei Ming hastily stepped forward to salute, and then explained: "When I was going out, someone blocked the sedan chair, and it was delayed for a while."

Li Xu didn't want to waste time, so he said to the two of them, "Sit down." Then he let Xiao Er serve the food.

There are many dishes in the menu of Fulai Restaurant, some of which are recipes bought from Li Xu, and some are inspired by the new dishes developed by the chef himself, which are very popular among the public.

There were four people at a table, Kou Xiao was sitting on the left of Li Xu, Lei Ming was sitting on the right, and Lei Zhan was sitting on the opposite side. During the meal, he followed the rules of not talking when eating or sleeping, but the atmosphere was too depressing. The brothers didn't move their chopsticks much, but Kou Xiao ate with relish, and more than half of the dishes went into his stomach.