Section 146 Trip to Foshan (12)

"No need," Li Luoyou said, "both of them can eat Chinese food, and they like it tightly." Tell Chef Liao to do it. Chef Liao brought with him from his home in Guangzhou, and he has several famous dishes, especially roast-suckling-pig and roast mutton, which are famous in the city of Guangzhou. Li Luoyou also brought him for the convenience of the local banquet.

"Yes. I'll arrange it. Shopkeeper Cheng retreated. Li Luoyou stood up and said to Gu Baocheng: "You come." ”

Gu Baocheng was still a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, and he could see that he was very afraid of this uncle. Followed closely.

"I assigned you to do your homework on the ship, did you do it? Is there anything you don't understand? ”

"Master Hui: My nephew has already done it." The Li family is also a leader in learning to be an official, and their sons and nephews call their elders "master", "but there are a few geometry problems that can't be done." I want to ask the master for advice. ”

"Well, bring the window textbook to the study in the evening."

When I arrived, the study had been cleaned cleanly, and more than a dozen large cabinets had to be full of correspondence and account books. The cabinet containing important documents is locked. Li Luoyou checked the seals on the cabinets everywhere and confirmed that they were intact, so he tore off the seals one by one and sat down.

Gu Baocheng naturally didn't dare to sit and stood aside.

"Bao Cheng! Sharpen the ink and write a few letters. ”

"Yes!" Gu Baocheng is a little strange, this kind of thing like writing a letter is usually a matter of the master of Shuqi, and the confidential one is the uncle's own hands, how can he call himself to write? I didn't dare to ask more, so I hurriedly walked to the rosewood bookcase, took a piece of Cheng Junfang's residual ink, and grinded it on a Tang Dynasty inkstone.

"Write in Song style! You wrote-" Li Luoyou's letter was addressed to Liaohaixing's agent in Shenyang-Jiannu's "Shengjing," and there was more than one such agent, some of whom opened local deals, while others specialized in making friends with the noble officials of Houjin. Since the evacuation of Guangning, the Li family's business in Liaodong has been completely destroyed. Li Luoyou, who witnessed the tragic situation of the soldiers and civilians in Liaodong, began to send people back to Liaodong to reorganize his family business after he returned to Zhili and settled down a little. In the name of doing business, he secretly collected information about Houjin -- he still had a glimmer of hope in his chest: one day when Wang Shi returned to Liao, his intelligence network arranged by Liaodong would be able to play a slight role -- at the very least, he could kill a few Tartars in the local area.

The news of Ning Yuan's victory once gave Li Luoyou, who was already extremely disappointed in the government, a glimmer of hope. The Emperor of the Apocalypse died, King Xin entered the unification, and Wei Zhongxian, who leaned towards the government and the opposition, lost power and died, until Yuan Chonghuan re-emerged from the mountain and proposed the proposal of "five years to restore Liao", all of which made him feel unprecedented light. This Ming Qi is not exhausted in the end!

The news from his agents in Liaodong indicates that since the death of the old Tartar under the cannon of Yuan Governor's master, the Houjin was in a precarious state, both internally and economically. Li Luoyou felt that after the defeat of Salhu, the decline of the imperial court in Liaodong was likely to be reversed, and there was more activity in Liaodong in the past two years.

He asked Gu Baocheng to write a letter of instruction to take care of the agent's business activities in Shenyang. Liaohaixing's commercial activities in Liaodong were mainly through the channel of Phi Dao, entering the Houjin area to transport and sell goods in the customs area, and purchasing red ginseng, deer antler velvet, and skin-fur. Especially on haode sable fur. This trade was illegal in the Ming Dynasty, but it was welcomed in the jurisdiction of the Later Jin regime. The inevitable militarism, the withering of agriculture, and the extreme scarcity of all kinds of goods of a regime based on plunder and looting, were extremely supportive of such a smuggling trade with Kannai.

However, Li Luoyou was still different from the group of traitors-merchants in Shanxi, and he never shipped and sold the strategic materials such as grain, pig iron, and bronze tools that the Houjin urgently needed. The goods were all luxuries that had been useless in the ploughing war, especially silk brocades of all kinds, and porcelain of all coarse and fine coarseness, which had inevitably created a great demand for these products, as the barbarians, who had amassed a great deal of wealth by plundering and plundering, had just shed their pigskins. Li Luoyou's business was not to make money, but it was getting bigger and bigger - red ginseng, deer antler velvet and mink made him make a lot of money.

“…… As for Baylor's remarks about the transportation and sale of grain, please tell him: There have been many famines recently, the price of grain is extremely high, and there is no surplus grain to buy in the market......

Then he dictated a letter to redeem several former shopkeepers, and took care of the agent to redeem the guys in the original name who had found their whereabouts one by one, and if the family could find their whereabouts, they would also redeem them together. Taking advantage of the opportunity of trade, he sought and ransomed many acquaintances, peers, and relatives who had been taken captive as slaves in the Liaodong Raid. Those who ransomed themselves were all sent back to the Guannai, and those who had the courage and insight to have a bitter hatred for Jiannu would be sent back to the Guanwai, either as a pawn in the name, or as a local business to lurk. Waiting for the day when you can take revenge.

After he dictated the letter about giving gifts to the Houjin nobles and officials during the Dragon Boat Festival, Gu Baocheng saw that he had no other instructions, so he handed over the letter. Li Luoyou took it and read it carefully--a neat and neat piece of fly-headed small letters, densely written, and not chaotic at all. He nodded in satisfaction. Only then did he take out a small stamp from the worship box he carried with him and stamped them one by one.

Trade with Houjin is illegal, so such a letter Li Luoyou never pretends to be a person, does not leave a name in his heart, does not sign, does not write any inscription, only uses a monogram stamp as a mark. Once the letter is lost, simply destroy the stamp. Although Li Luoyou pinned his hopes on the imperial court, he was very clear about what the various characters in the court were.

The letter was carefully sealed and packed into wax pills. At that time, the special capable personnel collected the north to Dengzhou. There are many boats going to Phi Island in Dengzhou, and it is very convenient to smuggle them.

Li Luoyou sealed the wax pills and put them in a special jewelry box. Only then did he ask: "Baocheng!" Know that Weishenme wants you to write these three letters today? ”

"Yes, the lord is for the sake of the little nephew and not forgetting the hatred of the country and the family."

"If you know, it's good." Li Luoyou nodded, "Sit." ”

"The little nephew doesn't dare."

"Sit down, I have something to say to you." Li Luoyou sighed, "Uncle had another episode of vertigo yesterday, and this disease has been attacked several times, I'm afraid that something will happen—"

"Uncle's Spring and Autumn Prosperous ......"

"It doesn't matter, you won't be able to die for a while." Li Luoyou said in a deep voice, "Uncle crawled out of the pile of dead people, and he can't see life and death lightly." The Li family is now prosperous, but they can't let go of you-" He stopped Gu Baocheng's words, "Uncle originally expected to watch the imperial court recover Liaozuo, and our grandfather returned to his hometown to help you revive the family business." Now it seems that my uncle is afraid that he will not have this blessing. So this stall in Liaodong, you have to pay more attention to it in the future and help your uncle watch it more. ”

"Yes, my nephew will follow my uncle's teachings."

"You have to go to the Portuguese in Xiangshanao often, and my uncle knows that you don't want to believe in God, and he doesn't force you. It's just that I can have more insight when I go. Li Luoyou closed his eyes, "Westerners have their own set of skills and mathematics, not under my China, the world is vast, far from a corner of China......" His words seemed to be admonishing Gu Baocheng, and as if he was muttering to himself, Gu Baocheng didn't dare to disturb, just stood and listened.

“…… You go, after a long journey, you should also take a rest, and there is something to discuss in the evening. ”

"Yes." Gu Baocheng responded respectfully, and was just about to withdraw, but seeing that his uncle had no intention of leaving, he continued to open and read the letters sent by the branches from various places, and asked, "Isn't the master going to rest?" ”

"I'm not tired, I'll go back later."

"Yes," Gu Baocheng hesitated, "Nephew is bold, please forgive Aunt Jiang ......"

"Hmph," Li Luoyou snorted coldly, "You will pity the fragrance and cherish the jade." ”

"Nephew doesn't dare!" Gu Baocheng was so frightened that he knelt down. The elder woman - this was a matter of principle - sex - in ancient societies.

"Get up! Scares you like this. Li Luo glanced at him dissatisfied, Gu Bao grew up very much like his dead wife, and because of this, he looked quite weak, he sighed secretly in his heart, such a boy didn't know if he could bear this shoulder.

"Aunt Jiang is the elder of her nephew, and she is always a woman, so she can't stand such suffering......"

"When you kneel, you kneel to death?" Li Luoyou sneered, "I fled back from Liaodong. At that time, Liaozuo could not escape the men, women, and children who were taken captive and enslaved by Jiannu, and I don't know how many of them had been tortured to death, and those who did not die -- I should let you meet those who were redeemed, and hear what kind of life they were living -- she knelt down for an hour without a piece of meat. ”

Gu Baocheng kowtowed and protested: "Master, the suffering of the fallen people of Liaodong, my nephew never dares to forget it. It's just that these are two different things. Aunt Jiang is innocent? It's just that she said the wrong thing, and the lord reprimanded her, and such a punishment is inevitably unkind......"

"Bastard!" Li Luoyou saw that this nephew's stubborn temper came up, and scolded angrily, and suddenly his head was dizzy. He quickly stopped his anger and said, "Go out." It's really a woman's kindness! ”

Li Luoyou calmed down for a while, and then his brain was refreshed—this symptom became more and more serious. He thought that after returning to Guangzhou this time, he would invite a famous doctor, so that he could take a look.

was closing his eyes to recuperate, sweeping Ye came in lightly, and said in his ear: "Master, the big shopkeeper of Yang Run's hall sent someone to greet you, and also gave you a four-color-water gift." ”

"Where did he greet me, he invited me to come to my red ginseng deer antler velvet." Li Luo showed a smile from the corner of his mouth, "The gift has been accepted, and a reward will be given to the visitor." Tell him: Please ask the shopkeeper Yang to come over tomorrow to talk. ”

"Yes." Sweeping Ye agreed and retreated.

"Slow, Li Luoyou stopped him, "Go to the inner house and tell Aunt Jiang to get up." ”