[R18] Will drink wine – “About Wine” Chapter 143 [English]

Chapter 138 Counselor

It was getting dark when they woke up in the morning. Shen Zechuan had breakfast and boarded the car with Kong Ling to go to the powder shop where he had been last time.Business was going on as usual in the front hall, while Qiao Tianya and Fei Sheng stood in the back yard, and the Jin Yiwei kept a close eye on both the inside and outside.

At two o’clock, Luo Mu’s sedan also arrived. Today, he was wearing a maroon-colored slant-collared long-sleeved robe, dressed normally.The shopkeeper was smart. When he saw Luo Mu followed by a few unfamiliar attendants, he raised his voice and said, “The sun will be very hot in a while. It’s hard work standing outside. Let’s take my brothers to the room to have tea and rest.”

The attendants’ eyes met, and they expected Luo Mu to be unable to escape, so they followed the waiter and moved into the room.When they entered the house, they decided to hang up the curtains so that they could always keep an eye on the front door.

The waiter followed Luo Mu and asked Luo Mu to wipe his hands with a kerchief.Luo Mu wiped it off as usual and looked around at the items on the counter.The shopkeeper greeted him with a smile and said, “Last time, my lord, we didn’t prepare all the goods. This time, we prepared them early. There are also some jade toys that just arrived from the east. They are all behind. Please!”

Luo Mu seemed to hesitate and glanced at the attendants.

The shopkeeper continued: “The distance between the front and back feet won’t take you much time. Some goods are rare and difficult to get to the front for you to select, and they don’t look good.”

Luo Mu reluctantly nodded and followed the shopkeeper to the backyard.

Qiao Tianya opened the curtain himself, Luo Mu thanked him repeatedly, leaned in and saluted Shen Zechuan first.After the ceremony, he looked towards Kong Ling again and saw that he and he looked relaxed before taking their seats.

Shen Zechuan saw that Luo Mu was dressed as a scholar today. He must have carefully chosen his clothes and shoes before going out. Although he was sitting upright after entering, he would unconsciously look at Kong Ling whenever there was a conversation.As soon as Kong Ling opened his mouth, he looked attentively.

“In the past few days, Cai Yu has been focusing on cracking down on small gangs, but he has a sense of proportion. He knows the truth of losing words, and is afraid that he has gone too far and betrayed relatives, so while cracking down on small gangs, he tried his best to win over the remaining juniors with the method of ‘helping people with cheap food.'” Because Shen Zechuan was by his side, Luo Mu had already restrained his gaze. He said, “This method is to sell food cheaply to gangs who are not causing trouble.”

Kong Ling asked: “How much is that?”

Luo Mu replied: “One, two or five buckets.”

Kong Ling smiled and said: “The price is not much lower. The so-called ‘cheap food’ is just that he earns a little less than outside. Cai Yu used to be generous and did not care about gold and silver, but now he is so stingy.”

Not only can this price not be called “cheap food”, it should also be called “expensive food.”The current price of rice in Chazhou is one tael of silver and two buckets of rice, and the price of rice is one tael of silver and two shi of rice. What Cai Yu makes is huge profits, and they are huge profits that drive ordinary people to death.At this moment, in order to win people’s hearts, he only changed it to one tael of silver and five buckets of rice. This shows that he really wants money and is reluctant to give too much.

Shen Zechuan brushed away the foam and said: “Cai Yu is also riding a tiger and can’t get off. Now everyone inside and outside the city is complaining that the price of rice is too high. If he lowers too much to win over the little bandits, ordinary people will hate him even more, and naturally he won’t dare.”

“Not only Chazhou, Fanzhou is also causing public outrage.” Luo Mu knows Cai Yu’s business best. “At the beginning of this year, Lei Changming lost contact with the Yan family for some reason. Yan Heru stopped funding the Luoshan bandits, so they thought of conquering Cizhou and grabbing Cizhou’s granaries. The reason is that they can’t afford Cai Yu’s food.”

“Let Cai Yu sell it for a few days first,” Shen Zechuan turned over the folding fan and tapped it lightly against the table. “Whether it’s one, two, two, or one, two or five dou, ordinary people and little bandits can’t afford it. Cai Yu reluctantly showed mercy. Naturally, he hoped that the people below would be obedient and stop antagonizing him, but he’s attitude is not low enough, and this will only be counterproductive.”

“Don’t talk about ordinary people,” Kong Ling sighed, “even officials and officials can’t afford it according to the monthly salary issued by the court. On the way here, we saw people selling grass everywhere outside Chazhou, and even their children were sold, just hoping to have a way to survive.”

“People are worthless nowadays, and they sell their children at low prices.” Luo Mu has heard of these things for a long time, “Besides, nowadays, how can anyone in Zhongbo be willing to spend money to buy people? Only the brothels in Fanzhou are willing to take them, and they can’t even exchange for a bucket of rice from a good family to a lowly one.”

Shen Zechuan didn’t understand the situation in Fanzhou, so he asked: “Since Fanzhou has difficulty eating, where will the money come from to run these kilns?”

Luo Mu replied: “They are also bandits. They specialize in the skin and meat business for the bandits in Luoshan and Dengzhou. The price is very low, and even the small profits are swallowed up by the brothel madam.”

Kong Ling asked strangely: “Then they bought so many people and went back to do business, they have to raise them, right? Do they also buy food from Cai Yu?”

Luo Mu shook his head and said: “Humans are cheaper than dogs. They are fed only swill and weeds. If you starve to death, you can buy them again. Anyway, the price is cheap, so you won’t suffer any loss.”

Kong Ling sat in a daze, gradually showing pain on his face, and said: “Zhongbo has fallen into this situation, and if the court is willing to help, it will not become like this. In the early years, I said that Hua Siqian…”

He Shen Wei’s name was still stuck in his throat.

Luo Mu had a tacit understanding and was afraid that Kong Ling would say something unpleasant and leave a knot in Shen Zechuan’s heart. He quickly changed the subject and said, “According to Tongzhi’s plan, what will be done next?”

But Shen Zechuan said: “If Shen Wei had not cowered and refused to fight, Zhongbo would not have been so completely defeated. Mr. Cheng Feng cares about the common people, and I admire him the most. There are some words that should not be avoided.”

Luo Mu felt embarrassed that Shen Zechuan was so sincere.Kong Ling’s heart sank. He has been following Shen Zechuan and avoiding Shen Zechuan recently. He is a smart man. He is willing to follow Zhou Gui because he is familiar with Zhou Gui’s personality, but he is still a little afraid of Shen Zechuan. The deepest reason is that he thinks it is dangerous to follow Shen Zechuan.An unpredictable master is the hardest to serve. The calmer the situation, the more it feels like you are facing an abyss.

Kong Ling can stand in line, but he is unwilling to support Shen Zechuan like he supported Zhou Gui.Shen Zechuan hinted many times during this trip, but Kong Ling turned a blind eye and pretended to be dumbfounded.At this moment, seeing that Shen Zechuan was not only not angry, but also wanted to step down for himself, he felt even more frightened.

Seeing Kong Ling’s confused expression, Shen Zechuan turned his long fingers back to the folding fan, paused for a moment, and then said: “Suppress the news that Cizhou is here to sell grain for a few more days, and then release it when the bandits all have their own interests and are no longer willing to be manipulated by Cai Yu. At that time, the backup grain trucks should not enter the city, but set up a porridge shed outside the city to tell the refugees that Cizhou is here to sell grain at normal prices.”

Luo Mu asked tentatively: “What if we don’t have any money?”

HeMost of your family fortune will fall into your hands. Use this money to do business with Cizhou and exchange for the support of the people.To this day, I still want to remind you that Cizhou is here to do business, not to tighten its belt to support others.”

Luo Mu had sweat on his forehead, wiped it with a handkerchief, nodded and said: “This is natural, this is natural…”

* * *

Shen Zechuan returned to the courtyard this time, not with Kong Ling.

Qiao Tianya was sitting in the front of the carriage, wearing a bamboo hat, resting his arms on his head, and said through the curtain: “Master, don’t you want me anymore?”

Shen Zechuan couldn’t stand the heat, so he closed his eyes and fell asleep. After listening to the hawking sounds along the street for a while, he said, “I’ll give you both soft and hard, but he’s determined not to do it.”

Qiao Tianya held the young grass core between his teeth and said: “Yes, he has been hiding his power in front of you several times, just because he was afraid of being forced. When he was discharged from the hospital after studying, he did not follow Zhou Gui and Luo Mu to become an official, just because he wanted to be a white man. He is a natural counselor, and his only pride is to be able to choose his own future. ”

Shen Zechuan half-opened his eyes and said, “I, Shen Lanzhou, don’t have to do it.”

Shen Zechuan didn’t want to force it, but he was too short of people.Originally, he also thought that Kong Ling and Zhou Gui were the best arrangement. If these two people were put together, they could stabilize one party, at least stabilize Cizhou.But now, Shen Zechuan has no talents around him who can make suggestions. What he lacks is no longer a pair of eyes or a pair of hands, but a counselor who can help him plan the entire territory.

Kong Ling is quite talented in Zhongbo. He is both Zhou Gui’s classmate and Luo Mu’s classmate. In terms of personal relationship, he can coordinate many things in these two states for Shen Zechuan. For example, this time, he can directly deliver a famous invitation and visit the house.He also has the contacts he established in the Dunzhou Army when he served as Tantai Long’s counselor. As long as these people are not dead, they can be used in the future.Furthermore, when Lei Jingzhe designed to deceive them, Shen Zechuan did not take a fancy to Kong Ling because Kong Ling was deceived too easily. However, Kong Ling’s voice in front of Cizhou City made Shen Zechuan interested again. Until this time before leaving, Kong Ling quickly joined forces and Shen Zechuan was completely tempted to accept him.

But Kong Ling had no idea of ​​changing ownership.

Shen Zechuan was too young. Not only did he have a rough life experience, he also studied under Qi Huilian.Qi Huilian once had three ups and downs in Qudu, and served as the leader of the East Palace for several years. What kind of students would such a teacher teach?Qi Huilian was the emperor’s master, and Kong Ling didn’t dare to think about it anymore.The most important thing is that he is afraid of Shen Zechuan and cannot trust Shen Zechuan.

In Kong Ling’s eyes, Shen Zechuan was a cold-hearted person who would abandon his personal relationship at any time.If it were Zhou Gui today, he would never say that to Luo Mu.

Shen Zechuan raised his head in frustration and looked at the car curtains that were shaking due to the bumps.Wisps of sunlight flickered in the gaps, hitting He’s knees and blurring out on the white.

After Qi Huilian died, Shen Zechuan wore white.He never asked Qiao Tianya where Han Cheng placed his husband’s body after he left.he The painful crying that night only remained in Xiao Chiye’s palm, but the names of Xue Xiuzhuo, Han Cheng, and the Queen Mother were imprinted in Shen Zechuan’s heart, along with the city walls that were dyed red in the pouring rain.

He has to stand firm, he needs counselors.

Shen Zechuan chanted silently.

A counselor who can compete with Xue Xiuzhuo.