Sunrise in the East - Smile Allure

Said to Timur: "Brother Dongfang has never eaten. Timur, can you help him make a bowl of noodles?"

That Timur seemed to be still eating the vinegar of Dongfang Bubai, muttered something in Tatar, but still hurried out.Seeing that Dongfang Bubai didn't want to talk, He Qicheng couldn't help feeling a little worried.With a slight smile, he helped Dongfang Bubai take off his cloak, went out and brought in a basin of hot water, helped Dongfang Bubai wipe his face carefully, and then buried his head in his sweetheart's neck and took a deep breath.Dongfang Bubai heard Timur's voice from a distance, and was about to push him away, but He Qicheng smiled lightly and pulled him to the table to sit down.

After a while, Timur brought in a bowl of hot noodle soup and put it in front of Dongfang Bubai.Picking up his own bowl, he drank it clean, cupped his fists to He Qicheng and said, "I'm leaving. Come back tomorrow!" After a pause, he nodded to Dongfang Bubai, and said, "Goodbye, Dongfang Bubai. "Before he came, Mrs. Sai told him not to be rude to Dongfang Bubai.

When Timur was far away, Dongfang Bubai suddenly noticed something extra in his hand, and looked down to see that it was He Qicheng who stuffed the chopsticks into his hand.He saw that the noodles in the bowl of noodles were only six inches each, covered with a thin layer of beef and sprinkled with a lot of shallots, and the bottom soup was full of fragrance, which seemed to be haggis soup, so he knew that it was near Datong. The famous sliced ​​noodles.Made by the hands of the Tatars, it is a bit more rich, and people can't help but twitch their index fingers.

Seeing that He Qicheng's eyes were full of worry, he couldn't help feeling warm, and said in a low voice, "You eat too." Carefully holding the chopsticks, he picked up a few noodles and ate them into his mouth.After eating a few mouthfuls, my appetite gradually increased, and I didn't even bother to speak, so I ate up a bowl of noodles together with the noodle soup in a short time.When he raised his head, he realized that He Qicheng had already finished eating, and he was watching him eating noodles with a smile. He couldn't help turning his head slightly, and said in a low voice, "Why are you eating so late?" There was some reproach in his words.

He Qicheng smiled calmly, rubbed his stomach, and sighed: "I'm busy. I want to finish the horse market business as soon as possible, and I can leave at any time when you come back. I didn't expect you to come back in one day, so I can't make it in time La."

Dongfang Bubai pointed to the outside and said, "Why is that Timur with you?"

He Qicheng said: "I made an agreement with Mr. Wang, half of the stalls in the horse market are Han and Tatar. I don't understand Tatar, so I borrowed Timur from Mrs. Sai."

Dongfang Bubai wondered, "Why does he listen to you so much?"

He Qicheng smiled and said: "His father fell from his horse a few months ago and was seriously injured. It was all thanks to Mrs. Sai's continuous supply of ginseng to hang him. I went to Sai's Racecourse today and healed him Father, of course he obeys me."

Dongfang Bubai didn't expect that He Qicheng would do so many things in one day, so he thought for a while and said, "Then how many more days do you want to stay here?"

He Qicheng pondered for a moment and said: "Three more days are enough. In fact, the rules and regulations have been drawn up, but I don't feel relieved if I don't take a look in person. What's more, I have bought a few stalls in the horse market, and I have to find honest and reliable dealers. People who operate on their behalf.”

Dongfang Bubai nodded: "Okay."

But He Qicheng stood up and walked to Dongfang Bubai, grabbed one of his wrists, and put his two fingers on the pulse gate.Closed eyes and explored for a while, then frowned and said: "Brother Dongfang, your body is very weak, don't practice kung fu for the next few days, I will help you recuperate." Trauma. No, I’ll decoct medicine for you right now! Fortunately, there are all kinds of medicine in front.”

Seeing that He Qicheng was about to leave, Dongfang Bubai quickly grabbed his sleeve, and after a while he whispered: "Don't go, stay here with me for a while."

He Qicheng frowned, seeing that Dongfang Bubai's state of mind seemed to have gone through great ups and downs, and at this moment he actually showed some hesitation that he had never seen before.He was extremely worried, but his face was still full of smiles, he hugged Dongfang Bubai's shoulders from behind, and whispered in his ear: "Okay. I won't go. Brother Dongfang, close your eyes."

Dongfang Bubai felt tightly encircled by a pair of warm arms, and the tiredness that had been suppressed along the way came back, and he closed his eyes, feeling a little drowsy.After a while, he heard He Qicheng whisper in his ear: "Drink some." Some warm liquid was on his lips.He didn't even think about it, he took a sip, and a stream of heat went from his mouth to his stomach, which was even warmer than the hot noodle soup just now.After sucking a few more sips, he became more tired immediately, and couldn't help but relax his body and lean back, resting his head on He Qicheng's chest.There was a familiar smell on the end of his nose, and he murmured: "Qicheng, do you think I am cold-blooded and heartless?"

Seeing that the wound on his palm was gradually healing, He Qicheng withdrew his palm, made another slash with the dagger, and brought it to Dongfang Bubai's lips.He smiled and said: "Brother Dongfang, if you want to be ruthless, you can be ruthless. Why bother to trap yourself with all the past? You only need to be sympathetic to me."

Dongfang Bubai smiled wryly, "Nonsense! Humans are not grasses and trees that can be ruthless, but... I'm afraid of misjudging the person and repeating... the same mistakes..."

Seeing that Dongfang Bubai had fallen asleep, He Qicheng quickly wiped off the blood on his lips with his fingers, and then wrapped up the wound on his palm with a handkerchief. Then he picked up Dongfang Bubai and walked to the bed step by step.After he settled Dongfang Bubai, he waited for a while, seeing that Dongfang Bubai would not wake up for a while, he went to the pharmacy at the front and found some medicines, put a small bowl of blood, and fried it together into a bowl. , Take it back to the room.

Seeing that Dongfang Bubai was still sleeping, he took the medicine in his mouth and put it into Dongfang Bubai's mouth.After the bowl of medicine was finished, even He Qicheng couldn't take it anymore.Rubbed his eyes, suppressed his drowsiness, waited for Dongfang Bubai to sweat, then went to fetch a pot of hot water, untied Dongfang Bubai's clothes, wiped off the sweat with a cloth, and put on clean clothes for him , and then fell into a deep sleep on the bed.

On the second day, He Qicheng and Dongfang Bubai slept until the sun was up.Seeing that Dongfang Bubai's complexion improved a lot, He Qicheng ordered the staff to buy it and come back early, fried a bowl of ordinary tonic for Dongfang Bubai to take, and told him not to go out to see the wind, so he went with Timur Organize the horse market.

After another three days of busy work, the preparations for the horse market were almost done. Dongfang Bubai proposed to leave for the capital, but He Qicheng insisted on raising him for seven days. It is absolutely not advisable to trek on horseback at this time.

Dongfang Bubai had no choice but to stay in the house to recuperate.On the contrary, every time Timur came, he looked at him and He Qicheng with strange eyes, which made him a little awkward.After He Qicheng found out, he simply kissed Dongfang Bubai on the cheek in front of Timur, and Dongfang Bubai was stunned for a moment, and Timur screamed like he saw a ghost.

Timur was originally a straightforward Tatar man, but he hadn't thought about such things, so he opened his mouth in a daze but didn't come out.But He Qicheng said: "Brother Dongfang belongs to me." Timur was stunned for a while, and just halfway through the word "oh", He Qicheng said again: "I am also from Brother Dongfang."

Now Timur was stunned, unable to turn the corner.He has been at Sai's Racecourse for a long time, and he has seen rich merchants from the Central Plains raising some beautiful boys by their side.Although he couldn't figure out how He Qicheng could keep a martial arts master by his side, and he was not young, but fortunately, Dongfang Bubai would naturally not have anything to do with Mrs. Sai, so he couldn't help feeling relieved.Unexpectedly, He Qicheng added another sentence, he didn't know who was whose male favourite, his eyes were wide open, he looked at He Qicheng for a while, and Dongfang Bubai for a while, not knowing what to do.

He Qicheng smiled and said, "I treat Big Brother Dongfang just like you treat Mrs. Sai."

Timur said in a daze: "Qi Hua'er is still unwilling to let me into her tent." He just said this out of feeling, but he blushed when he said Dongfang Bubai.

He Qicheng pretended to be mysterious and said: "Then do you want to be favored by Mrs. Sai?"

Timur nodded quickly and said: "I want to! I want to dream!"

He Qicheng pointed to Dongfang Bubai and said, "Then quickly ask Big Brother Dongfang to teach you a few tricks, and I guarantee you can beat Mrs. Sai's horsewhip. It's just..."

"Just what?" Timur scratched his ears and cheeks immediately, as if he was impatient.

He Qicheng smiled and said: "You have to say something to us, I wish Dongfang Hierarch and Young Master He to be united forever and grow old together."

Timur wondered, "That's it?"

He Qicheng nodded and said: "That's it." While talking, he stood with Dongfang Bubai.Dongfang Bubai wanted to walk away, but He Qicheng grabbed hold of his sleeve tightly and wouldn't let go.

Timur thought for a while, muttered "this is easy", put his hands on his hips, and shouted to the two of them: "I wish the Dongfang Hierarch and Young Master He will be united forever and grow old together!" After finishing speaking, he looked at the two of them again , as if he had realized something, he kept laughing.

Dongfang Bubai was so ashamed, but He Qicheng laughed out loud.

Finally, on the seventh day, He Qicheng excitedly took Dongfang Bubai to see the newly opened horse market, but Timur had already rushed back to Sai's racecourse, wanting to try the three moves Dongfang Bubai taught him. .

I saw a wooden sign hanging high at the gate of Nama City, on which were written ten iron laws, such as no forced buying and selling, no shortage of catties, no refilling with good ones, no trading of ironware, and those who violated it will be punished. Wait, wait, the inscription is Governor Wang Chonggu.Going further in, on both sides of the road are Han merchants, and on the other side are Tatar shops.At this time, more than half of the Han people's side has opened, but Tatar merchants are still moving in a little bit.There are quite a lot of pedestrians visiting the horse market on the road, but they are afraid of Wang Chonggu's reputation and dare not make any noise.Coupled with the fact that there are two teams of officers and soldiers constantly patrolling, although it is a market, it has a somewhat more chilling atmosphere.

He Qicheng explained that the hatred between the two clans has not disappeared, and in order to avoid the efforts of the peace talks in vain, everything must be cautious. After a few years, both sides are used to exchanging business with each other, so there is no need for such a situation.

He Qicheng showed Dongfang Bubai a look at the store he bought, and explained to the shopkeeper about his business in the future, and went to taste a few kinds of Tatar food, and then went back to the pharmacy with him.Packed up overnight, bid farewell to Governor Wang Chonggu early the next morning, and set off for the capital.

Part56

When we arrived in the capital, it was less than two days away from August [-]th.

He Qicheng led Dongfang Bubai to the gate of a courtyard.I saw a horizontal plaque hanging on the gate, with the words "Hefu" written on it, and a stone beast on each side, with a dragon's head, a horse's body, and Lin's feet.

He Qicheng raised his hand and knocked on the vermilion lacquered door a few times, the door opened after a while, and it was Zhao Da who came out to open the door.When he saw that it was He Qicheng and Dongfang Bubai who had returned, he greeted them with joy and opened his voice.The pavilions and pavilions in the courtyard of Dongfang Bubai are designed like a garden in the south of the Yangtze River, but the flowers, plants and trees used are all owned by the Northland, which seems a little more elegant and simple.Facing the gate, there is a side of Taihu stone standing in a small pool with dozens of holes, and clouds and mist shroud it.

After a while, only a girl's voice was heard coming from far and near, but it was Lu Fei who hurried over after hearing the news.When she saw He Qicheng, her eyes turned slightly red, and she didn't start giggling again until she took a pack of pine nut candy from Dongfang Bubai.

He Qicheng and his servants were used to being casual, and the group had a lively lunch regardless of master and servant, and chatted casually about the recent situation before He Qicheng took Dongfang Bubai to visit the newly bought mansion.Dongfang Bubai sees that this place occupies a large area, and there is a lotus pond in the back garden. Besides the house, there is another warm pavilion with carved railings and jade bricks. A small half of it is built in the water, like a fairyland. You can tell the cost at a glance. It's not cheap, and I can't help but have some doubts in my heart.

He Qicheng explained that they should have spent far more time staying in the capital than elsewhere in the past few years, so they bought a house here so that it would be more convenient to live in.He had already set his sights on this place in the middle of the previous year. It turned out to be the other courtyard of a high-ranking official, and that person raised a concubine here.Just because the concubine is from Jiangnan, the designs here are all in Jiangnan style.Later, the official was defeated in the party struggle, and a lawsuit dragged on for more than a year. In the end, he lost his official position, not to mention his distribution, and all his properties were sold off from the company.Like these official houses selling property, ordinary people can't buy it. He Qicheng used some means to buy this courtyard, and ordered Zhao Da and Qian Er to find a craftsman to repair it, and removed many flowers and plants. It was replanted with pines, cypresses and willows, and a piece of Taihu stone was transported a long distance away, which was just completed a few days ago.

The two walked a few steps along the lotus pond, He Qicheng pointed to the Nuan Pavilion beside him and said, "I had someone repair an earth dragon here, so it must be very warm in winter." After saying that, he dragged Dongfang Bubai into the Nuan Pavilion.

I saw that there were double-layer high windows on the side facing the water. After opening all of them, the room was suddenly bright.All seats are wrapped with a layer of soft cloth, which looks very soft and comfortable.In the center hangs a picture of peonies, with the inscription "wealth, honor and auspiciousness" in four big characters. The colors are gorgeous, graceful and luxurious, and it can be seen that it came from the hands of famous masters.There is also a mahogany multi-treasure box next to the wall, some exquisite jade and porcelain, and a pot of five-clawed pine bonsai in the center, which has a strange shape and is vigorous and powerful.

Dongfang Bubai walked up to the multi-treasure tree, raised his hand to touch the pine needles, and said in a low voice, "You plan to live here?"

He Qicheng chuckled and said, "Of course we live here together."

Dongfang Bubai was startled, frowned and said: "Then Lu Fei and the others...?"

He Qicheng said: "They will understand after a while. I don't want to be sneaky in my own home. Besides, it's not something shameful for me to stay with Brother Dongfang. If anyone dares to chew their tongues, hehe Hmph, I'm not a soft-hearted person!"

Seeing the coldness in He Qicheng's eyes, Dongfang Bubai knew that he really wanted to live with him, so he couldn't help feeling warm in his heart, and said with a smile: "Actually, it's not uncommon for sworn brothers to meet up and talk every night." He picked up another purple clay teapot to play with.

He Qicheng grinned and said, "Brother Dongfang said so. Actually, this place is far away from other places, and there are two doors and windows. Even if there is any movement, no one will hear it."

Dongfang Bubai heard He Qicheng speak bluntly, and couldn't help but glared at him, put down the teapot, pointed to the upstairs and said: "There should be another floor above this? Why don't I sleep on the top and you sleep on the bottom?" When he saw He Qicheng collapsed immediately After lowering his face, he smiled again and said, "I'll talk about these things later, is there a place here where I can practice?"

He Qicheng hurriedly said: "There is an open space not far from here. After I had it leveled, I laid bluestones on it. It just happens to be a martial arts arena for Big Brother Dongfang."

Dongfang Bubai saw that He Qicheng had considered all these things thoroughly, and was even more happy in his heart, but he forcibly suppressed the smile on his face, nodded slightly and said, "Take me to have a look."

The two left the warm pavilion together, and walked to an open space after a while.Dongfang Bubai saw that the surrounding trees had obviously been trimmed, and there were wooden stakes, dummies, and a few weapon racks on both sides. Knowing that He Qicheng had specially cleared out a place for him to practice, he couldn't help laughing and said: "This place is good. Come here with me to practice in the morning!"

He Qicheng was surprised and said, "I want to practice too?"

Dongfang Bubai nodded and said: "You can't practice internal strength, but external strength can always be practiced. Although it's a late start, from now on, it's not too difficult to gain a few hundred pounds of strength every day from now on. .”

He Qicheng asked doubtfully, "Why should I practice external skills?"

Dongfang Bubai straightened his face and said: "I told you to practice as soon as you want, what are you talking about? Don't you want to strengthen your body and prolong your life? I have thought about it carefully. Although I can't open up your meridians, I can teach you how to use external exercises Drive the inner breath. As long as you persevere, you can slowly introduce the medicinal power in your blood vessels and meridians into the bones, skin and flesh of your whole body. I remember that Shaolin Temple has an external skill, which can be practiced to the extreme, and you can become an indestructible body. You are much more bald than those gangsters There are quite a few advantages, as long as you fuse the power of the medicine with the flesh and blood, you should be able to have great benefits. As for the specific method, I have to try a few more times to be sure. Besides, the power of the medicine in your body is constantly increasing, whether it is poison or bloodletting In the end, it can only cure the symptoms, but practicing external exercises is a good way to cure the root cause. It is best to slightly dredge the meridians in your body, if the medicine can flow, I can teach you how to condense it, so as not to break the meridians."

Seeing that Dongfang Bubai had thought so carefully, He Qicheng was so excited that he grasped Dongfang Bubai's palm.He originally planned to find a solution to his own problems from the medical arts, but unexpectedly, his medical skills have improved a lot in the past few years, but it didn't help.He didn't have Dongfang Bubai's extraordinary knowledge of martial arts, so he naturally didn't expect to be able to solve the problem of the raging medicine in his body through practicing external skills.After thinking about it for a while, I felt a sudden enlightenment in my heart, and I couldn't help exclaiming: "No wonder everyone says that practicing Wu Qinxi can keep you healthy. I don't see any tricks in it. According to Brother Dongfang, if you want to come to Hua Tuo You probably came up with a way to use various postures to stimulate the flow of inner breath, so that ordinary people can prolong their lives after practicing, right?"

Dongfang Bubai saw that He Qicheng could infer other things from one instance, so he couldn't help but nodded and said: "That's right. There is a peerless secret book "Yi Jin Jing" in Shaolin Temple. I wanted to read it several times, but unfortunately I couldn't find it. Once by chance, Instead, I found a copy of the "Shenjiao Sutra" in the Sutra Pavilion. It recorded the yoga exercises of the eminent Indian monks. There are only dozens of weird postures in total, but they claim to be able to practice the unrivaled miraculous skills that are invulnerable to cold and heat. I After returning to God, I tried to do it again. I didn’t feel anything at first. When my body was almost stiff, I suddenly felt that there was an inner breath flowing in a certain direction. Later, I changed to the next posture, and the inner breath continued to move forward. Flow. When a set of movements is completed, it happens to complete a big cycle. Although it is not as powerful as "Sunflower Treasure", it is quite interesting. I am afraid that "Shenzu Jing" will conflict with "Sunflower Treasure", so I will not repeat it. Try. It was not until I met you that I began to consider whether this method can help you dredge the meridians. I improved the postures according to the "Shenzu Jing", and finally came up with this 21-style "Shadow-changing Jue". Don't worry, this set of external exercises Even if it can't really solve the problem of the raging medicine in your body, it will definitely not cause any damage to the body."

He Qicheng nodded quickly and said, "Brother Dongfang, don't worry, I will definitely practice harder. Start teaching me tomorrow morning!"

Dongfang Bubai smiled slightly, and said in his heart, I asked you to come out to practice kung fu every morning, but it wasn't all for your own good.Ever since he came back from Heimuya, he couldn't let He Qicheng go, and he always wanted to keep people in sight.He wanted He Qicheng to accompany him to practice, but he was afraid of annoying He Qicheng, so he meditated and thought hard, and finally finished half of the exercises that he had thought of before in a few days.Seeing that He Qicheng's face was moved, he couldn't help feeling a little proud, coughed lightly and said, "When do you plan to see Zhang Juzheng?"

He Qicheng thought for a while and said: "Tomorrow, I will send the greeting card first, and I will go there when Mr. Zhang is free. I still need to contact some colleagues, Brother Dongfang, are you going with me, or do you want to go for a stroll in the capital first?" Anyway, for the Mid-Autumn Festival the day after tomorrow, we have to meet Brother Hu together."

Dongfang Bubai nodded and said: "I'll go with you. Hmph! Zhang Juzheng is quite airy, and we still want us to wait for him!"

He Qicheng chuckled and said, "Master Zhang is a first-rank member of the imperial court anyway, and there are countless people waiting in line to meet him. It's luck for ordinary people to pass in invitations. Although I can use my relationship to meet Master Zhang earlier, I don't want to No. Instead, follow the method of others, and wait slowly for the greeting post to be seen by him. The longer you wait, the more I will show my respect for him. Anyway, this business can't be rushed, we are in Beijing Wouldn't it be better to play for a few more days?"

Dongfang Bubai saw that He Qicheng made a funny face while talking, and couldn't help being amused by him: "You're the only one with a lot of tricks!"

The two discussed it properly, and they cleaned up the house separately for the time being.

However, he said that early in the morning of the second day, He Qicheng and Dongfang Bubai practiced martial arts for an hour on the martial arts arena.Dongfang Bubai was afraid that his foundation was not solid enough, so he only taught one posture and asked him to practice it repeatedly.After the two of them stopped attacking and went to the front yard to spend some breakfast, Lu Fei reported to He Qicheng the proceeds from the business on the road and the expenses in the capital, and the two went out together.

When they reached the gate of Zhang Juzheng's mansion, there was indeed a lot of traffic.The two chatted while waiting, and it took more than two hours for their turn to arrive.He Qicheng handed the letter of greeting to the manager respectfully, and secretly stuffed a few gold ingots for him.Last time he and Qi Jiguang walked through the side door, but the manager is a stranger.The man took the gold ingot without saying anything, just snorted coldly and waved his hand to signal He Qicheng to leave.He Qicheng didn't mind either, and went to find a place to have lunch after dragging Dongfang Bubai.

Unexpectedly, not long after sitting down, someone chased to the door of the restaurant, panting, but it was the steward just now.Seeing that He Qicheng and Dongfang Bubai were sitting upstairs by the window, he hurried upstairs, saying that Minister Zhang had invited them.The attitude is respectful and respectful, which is quite different from before.

He Qicheng and Dongfang Bubai looked at each other with a smile, put down the bowls and chopsticks, paid the money in a hurry, and walked to Zhang Juzheng's mansion with the steward.After entering the mansion, two other beautiful maids led them to the backyard, and after a while they came to a water pavilion.It was Zhang Ju who was drinking with Qi Jiguang. The two of them were serving no less than twenty people around them, and another singer was playing and singing.

Seeing He Qicheng and Dongfang Bubai coming, Zhang Juzheng immediately smiled and asked people to add seats, and changed another table.It wasn't until the four of them were full of wine and food that Zhang Juzheng ordered people to remove the bowls and chopsticks, and began to discuss business matters.Qi Jiguang knew what was going on, and seeing that his matter had been settled, he quickly got up and pleaded guilty and left.He also made an appointment with He Qicheng to meet at Baiwei Tower in a few days, and then he was led out of the water pavilion by two maids.

Part57

Zhang Juzheng first thanked He Qicheng for his contribution to the horse market, He Qicheng even said he didn't dare, Zhang Juzheng said again: "I don't know what you thought about the thing that was said in Jiangling three years ago?"

It turned out that when Zhang Juzheng was just a Jinshi, it coincided with the struggle between the DPRK and China.Xia Yan and Yan Song competed for the position of chief assistant. Later, Xia Yan won the position of first assistant, but was killed by Yan Songjin's slander soon after, and the first assistant changed positions.At that time, Zhang Juzheng was conferred the title of Shujishi and studied in the Hanlin Academy.Xu Jie, the second assistant, saw his talent and personally tutored him in his studies, allowing Zhang Juzheng to delve into the ancient and modern ways of helping the country and the world.After Zhang Juzheng finished his studies, he published an article "On Current Politics" in which he painfully reported the accumulated disadvantages, but he failed to catch Yan Song's eyes.Later, when the imperial court had another chance to make a routine memorial, he gave up all of them in order to protect himself.Until three years ago, when Yan Song fell from power and the party disputes between the government and the Chinese Communist Party resumed, he returned to his hometown of Jiangling to recover from his illness, but he did not work behind closed doors.

Zhang Juzheng intends to work hard to develop business and trade in order to increase the income of the court, and he happens to meet Hexicheng who is going to Jiangling to inspect the shops.Seeing He Qicheng's extraordinary appearance, he wanted to get acquainted.After talking about it, we really benefited a lot.It was agreed at that time that when Zhang Juzheng returned to the court, he would invite He Qicheng to join hands in the reform plan to revitalize the Ming economy.

Later, after Zhang Juzheng returned to serve in the Hanlin Academy, he was recommended by Xu Jie and became the minister of King Yu.A year ago, King Yu inherited the Datong, and Zhang Juzheng was finally promoted to a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion, entered the cabinet, and became an important member of the cabinet, which can be regarded as the achievement of the poem he wrote when he was 13 years old. Festival, go straight to the end!"

At this time, although Gao Gong was the first assistant, the emperor listened to Zhang Juzheng more, and this was a good opportunity for Zhang Juzheng to show his ambitions.So he sent someone to invite He Qicheng to the capital for a meeting a few years ago, and asked He Qicheng to write a letter of experience and thoughts over the past few years for him to read carefully.

When He Qicheng heard Zhang Juzheng asked about his thoughts on the incident three years ago, he couldn't help but smiled slightly: "I have tried this in the He family in the past few years, and the conclusion I came to is that it's not impossible, but that the businessman is too heavy on the matter in front of him. Li, I can’t see the long-term benefits of doing this. As long as the Lord can make the court issue a decree, it will be achieved in one fell swoop! After trying it, the merchants will be able to do what the Lord wants, not only to stabilize interest rates, but also to encourage farming. It can generate revenue for the national treasury."

Zhang Juzheng couldn't help applauding when he heard the words.It turned out that he had long seen the disadvantages of private lending. Because he could not afford the debt, many farmlands were deserted. In order to embezzle the land, the rich even used usury to force the people to sell their children and daughters to become refugees.Three years ago, he asked He Qicheng about the solution. He Qicheng thought about it, but said that he had to try it before he could find out. From then on, the He family began to accept low-interest loans.Zhang Juzheng and He Qicheng made a plan. When the time is right, the imperial court will order to limit the interest of private lending. All loans of more than a certain amount of silver are only allowed to be borrowed from a few big merchants.Ordinary people who want to borrow money from others must sign an agreement with the borrower and merchants who are eligible to borrow, and the interest rate must not exceed the limit set by the imperial court.You can also deposit the excess money in your hands into the hands of merchants, and receive dividends that are slightly lower than the interest on loans on time.Once this is done, the poor folks can borrow a sum of money at very low interest to buy seed farming tools and survive the difficulties when they are plowing in the spring or when the crops are not harvested.In this way, it not only increased the land tax of the imperial court, but also reduced the number of refugees, stabilized the hearts of the people, and there would no longer be family ruin for a small sum of money.

For three years, He Qicheng practiced this method in the He family.I found that although the profit has declined, the price is long-term stability.If the imperial court can issue a clear decree, so that merchants can absorb the silver taels of the rich households in the world, and the accumulation of less money will make more profits, and the profits will be a hundred times greater than before.The reduction in interest also prevents the underlying moneylenders from exploiting and entrapping the borrowers, and it is relatively convenient to manage.

At present, Zhang Juzheng and He Qicheng discussed and determined the specific interest, loan period, and limit. Zhang Juzheng also said that in order to implement this law quickly, it will be for a period of one month after the decree is promulgated. For those who are limited, they can go to the government to demand "repudiation". Any IOU that has not been notarized by the franchised merchant can also apply for "interest rate reduction".

He Qicheng suggested that the first batch of merchants does not need to be too many. In order to ensure the supply of money and prevent some people from fleeing with the money, several big merchants in the world are the leaders. Or more than two guarantees, so that the risk can be greatly reduced.

Zhang Juzheng asked again if we should set up special officials to supervise this matter.He Qicheng strongly opposed it, saying that Wang Anshi's reform in the Northern Song Dynasty failed and was used as a laughing stock by businessmen.It is because there is a green crop law in the new decree, which stipulates that when the seeds are sown and are not harvested, the government will come forward to lend money to the people.At that time, local officials saw that it was profitable, and forced the people to borrow money one after another, which made the people's livelihood difficult. The reform was widely criticized and died prematurely.Although part of the reason is that Wang Anshi does not understand economics and thinks that the common people can afford high interest rates, but more of it is because once the interests are mixed, officials are extremely easy to engage in selfish fraud.It is simply done by the merchants, and the imperial court is only responsible for formulating policies and adjusting interest rates in a timely manner. Merchants are afraid of the government, and they will do their best as long as they are profitable, so it is not easy to make mistakes.

After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng took it for granted, and asked He Qicheng to contact big merchants from all over the country. Each family had to pay 30 taels of silver as a deposit, which was mortgaged in the treasury, in exchange for the franchise to operate loans.The first batch of at most ten companies signed a contract with the imperial court before September 50th, and later officially promulgated a decree to limit the interest on private loans.After that, if there is any increase or decrease, the first batch of big merchants must guarantee and pay a deposit to the court.Individuals are not allowed to borrow more than 50 taels of external debt.If the loan amount exceeds [-], a merchant with a franchise must act as an intermediary to ensure that the interest rate is not higher than the court regulations.People who want to make money with wealth can deposit silver in the hands of franchised merchants and get dividends on time.

He Qicheng heard that Zhang Juzheng wanted to increase the income of millions of taels for the national treasury at once, but this matter is one willing to fight and one willing to suffer. When colleagues see the benefits of it, they will definitely make people flock to it like Yan Yin .

In the end, Zhang Juzheng said that he intends to change the national policy of "emphasizing agriculture and despising business" to "enhancing agriculture, capital and business", and gradually reducing various tariffs and city taxes.He Qicheng couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard the words, and even said that Zhang Juzheng's method would definitely revitalize commerce.

Zhang Juzheng asked what other gestures he needed to make.He Qicheng thought for a while and said, 30 taels is not a small amount after all, his words are unfounded, it is best that Zhang Juzheng can spare time to meet with a few big businessmen, so as to surface the truth of the matter.Zhang Juzheng agreed, chatted for a while, and then sent the butler to send the two of them out of the door.

He Qicheng was delighted that the matter had been settled, so he dragged Dongfang Bubai to find another restaurant to sit down and drink heavily.Dongfang Bubai couldn't help sighing, with this method to stabilize the interest, countless people in the world will benefit from it and save their families from ruin, Zhang Juzheng has done a good deed.

He Qicheng laughed and said, "It's more than that? Mr. Zhang still has the heart to reduce the proportion of poll tax and distribute the tax to the fields. In this way, the common people can pay less tax, but those princes and nobles who wantonly buy and merge fields have to pay for the fields under their names. Pay taxes. In addition, since this year, various places have begun to clear land, so many hidden fields have to start paying taxes, which has really opened up a way for Daming to make money. Now that the war in the north has stopped, if the Japanese invasion can be eliminated again, it will be over. In a few years, Daming will be a peaceful and prosperous world!"

Dongfang Bubai chuckled lightly and said, "That's good. But he, Zhang Juzheng, is just a secondary assistant. Can the old emperor listen to him in everything?"

He Qicheng said in a low voice: "Although Mr. Zhang is the second assistant now, I believe that he will make great progress in the near future!"

Dongfang Bubai raised his eyebrows and said, "How do you say that?"

He Qicheng smiled and said: "Brother Dongfang, do you still remember the Eunuch Feng we met in Datong City? I heard that Eunuch Feng and Mr. Gao, the first assistant, were in the same situation, but they had a good relationship with Mr. Zhang. It is said that Mr. Gao Your Excellency hates eunuchs. He once scolded Eunuch Feng as a "castrate" to his face, and prevented him from being promoted to the eunuch twice. Now that Eunuch Feng is gaining power in front of the emperor, how could he let his old enemy go? Within a year, he will be the chief assistant It must change."

Dongfang Bubai snorted coldly and said, "That old bastard Gao Gong deserves to be blamed."

He Qicheng smiled and said: "We can't control so much of these disputes between the court and the middle party. As the saying goes, once the emperor and the courtiers, even Mr. Zhang will not be able to live in the sun all his life. When the time comes, people will leave the tea, and what they do today will inevitably be in vain. As long as the people After a few years of good life, I will live with peace of mind."

Dongfang Bubai frowned and said: "If anyone dares to touch your things, I will definitely make their heads fall!"

He Qicheng couldn't help laughing: "Money is just a thing outside of the body. Although I like making money, I don't feel sad about having no money. If the time comes when the family property is really lost, it's just a matter of earning it back. If Big Brother Dongfang gets hurt because of this, I can My heart aches to death!"

Dongfang Bubai feigned anger and said, "You doubt my martial arts?"

He Qicheng quickly waved his hands and said, "How could it be? Brother Dongfang is the best in martial arts in the world. If I doubted you, wouldn't I have been kicked in the head by a donkey? However, as the saying goes, not seeing each other every day is like three autumns. A few days ago, Brother Dongfang went alone for a When I went to Heimuya, I thought you were thinking too hard. If you kill people for me, wouldn’t it be that I won’t see you for several days? No way, no way, no way.” He Qicheng shook his head like a rattle as he spoke. .

Dongfang Bubai couldn't help laughing when he saw it, and sighed, "It's up to you. Next time, I'll just take you with me wherever I go."

He Qicheng's eyes lit up, and he said, "Is this true?"

Dongfang Bubai said impatiently: "Of course what I say cannot be false. Do you still want me to swear a poisonous oath?"

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