In Shengzhou City, Du Zhongxiao walked out of the door, stretched his waist, and felt comfortable physically and mentally. It's been three days since I came back from the Western Regions, and my body has really recovered, and I don't feel tired anymore. Thousands of miles, even half of the railway, are physically and mentally exhausting.

At this time, it is the middle of April, and the flowers are in full bloom, and it is the best time of the year in Shengzhou. Now there are more people in the city, all walks of life, many people are on this day, go outside the city to enjoy the flowers, just like the time of Kaifeng Mansion.

A peach tree in the courtyard also bloomed at this time, as bright as the morning glow.

Xiaoqing came out of the kitchen and said to Du Zhongxiao: "Official, the meal is ready, eat later." Today there is a big fish, braised very fragrant, and the officials can drink some wine. Thousands of miles away in the Western Regions, it must be very tired. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "After coming back, I rested for a few days, and today is much better." Speaking of me, it's been more than three years since I've been here, and it's time to return to the court. Although the river meanders are good, they are not as good as the Central Plains. In a few days, you go home first, pack up with your husband, and prepare to go to Kaifeng Mansion. ”

Xiaoqing said: "Do officials want to go to the capital to be officials next?" Our house is close to Kaifeng, and we have been there a few times before. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The capital is prosperous and lively, how can it be compared to Linying Town?" When the will comes, you will hurry home first, and go to the capital with your wife to rent a house to live in. I've heard that houses in the capital are not cheap, and you can't rent them at leisure. ”

Xiaoqing said: "The family has made a lot of money in the past few years, and my wife is not a stingy person, how can I not have a house?" Officials are at ease. ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "You don't know, in recent years, there have been many officials in the imperial court, and there are more people in the capital than before, so of course the house has become difficult to rent." There are not many other places there, and there are not many official houses. ”

Xiaoqing served the food, and Du Zhongxiao drank and ate food while discussing with Xiaoqing about life in the capital.

The will of the imperial court has not yet come, and Du Zhongxiao estimates that it should be soon. If you leave Hequ Road, you must have to take up a post in Beijing, otherwise you will not be able to face hundreds of officials. But what do you do in the capital? Du Zhongxiao can't figure it out now. It is said that he should enter the dynasty as a ruler, and with Du Zhongxiao's military exploits, it would be too low if he was not a ruler. It can be that Du Zhongxiao did not become an official in Beijing before, and his qualifications are incomplete, and it is difficult to do it. Or, like those emperors and nobles, they use the status of envoys as herdsmen to make herdsmen, which is considered half an idle job. It's just that it can't face the crowd.

If you can't think of it, don't think about it, just think about what it's like to live in the capital. Since ascending to the imperial examination more than ten years ago, Du Zhongxiao has been an official in the local government for more than ten years. From Xiaozhi County to the current ruler all the way, holding a large army, it can be described as heaven and earth. Especially in the past three years, it has become too fast, and suddenly it is difficult to determine the status of entering Beijing.

After eating, Du Zhongxiao said to Xiaoqing: "More than three years ago, I suddenly went north from Suizhou, and I don't know what my home looks like. In the past three years, the officials and I have defeated the Khitan, defeated the party, and leveled the Western Regions, I don't know how many big things I have done, and I don't know if my wife knows or not. ”

Xiaoqing said with a smile: "The affairs of officials, there are often people in the market who talk about it, and they all say that they have not made such great contributions since the founding of the country, how can Madame not know?" Before I came to Hequ, there was still a talking gentleman in the market. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled: "Which Mr. Talk, so many things!" I don't know if it's good or not. ”

Xiaoqing said: "Every time Mr. Talk about the official, Mrs. takes us to see it." There are good things to say, and there are bad ones. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled, said a few more gossips, and asked the soldiers to summon Chen Xiliang and the others to follow him to the city to have a look. Shengzhou is now a big city, everything is complicated, Du Zhongxiao has been away for nearly a year, and he has to have more contact with the shogunate officials to understand the new changes.

Not long after, the officials arrived, and Du Zhongxiao said: "I have been away from Shengzhou for nearly a year, and you are tired. Today happens to be fine, let's go to the city to have a look, find a restaurant in the evening, and drink a glass of wine. Tell me what is going on in the city. ”

Everyone said yes, and went out of the Shuai Mansion with Du Zhongxiao. The bustle of Katsushu City is nothing more than the shopping mall.

Turning all the way down, Du Zhongxiao saw that it was much more lively than before he left, and said: "The Western Regions are calm, but I didn't expect it to be lively here." ”

Chen Xiliang said: "The railway has reached Gaochang, and now the Hu merchants in the Western Regions all come by train, which saves the cost and makes the journey easier." All of a sudden, there were more goods in the Western Regions, and they were naturally prosperous. ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded and asked, "What about the former Hu Shang?" If they become like this, they will also be affected. ”

Dai Zhuang said: "That's nature. In the past, when I walked on the Beijing Road, I was not familiar with it, who dared to do business? Now it is all within the territory of the imperial court, and there are railways to connect it, and there are many more merchants. The price of goods from Gaochang dropped all of a sudden. The inns and freight yards around the mall are inhabited by many merchants from the Central Plains, who buy and sell goods from the Western Regions. Because of them, Shengzhou's business taxes have increased by I don't know much, and now they are more than self-sufficient. ”

Speaking of this, Chen Xiliang said: "There is another point, because there are more businessmen and the price is cheaper, Hu Shang's business is not as good as before. A few days ago, the biggest Hu Shang Jin San, found the state government and asked if he could do business in the Central Plains. Because the marshal did not return, the lower official asked him to wait. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Now like this, you can reject him first." Speaking of which, the Western Regions are now under the rule of the imperial court, and some of these people may not be Hu Shang. However, it would take a few years for the Western Regions to be governed normally before they could be allowed to do business in the interior. At that time, the Hu Chamber of Commerce from outside was concentrated in Gaochang, and the people in Shengzhou were all from their own country. ”

After the Battle of the Western Regions, Jin San's original identity as Hu merchants changed, and they were no longer Hu merchants, but merchants of the Song Dynasty. However, the habit that has been continued for a long time is not familiar to everyone, so it is better to keep it as it is and wait a while. If the trade route is opened, the real Hu merchants do not have to come to Shengzhou, as long as they go to Gaochang. Gaochang is the center of the Western Regions, which is also his role.

Jin San's biggest reliance is actually his network of businessmen in Black Khan, who can organize the supply of goods. Gaochang was destroyed, and the number of merchants who transported goods from there to the Central Plains suddenly increased, and Jin San was not greatly affected. However, the goods are cheaper, and the profits are rapidly decreasing, which is what he is anxious about. Now a large number of goods from the Western Regions are transported to the Central Plains by rail, and the scale of the transaction is much larger than before, and he has taken a fancy to this piece of fat.

Chen Xiliang said: "Now that the railway is open, merchants can transport goods by train, and the goods are much cheaper. However, it was precisely because of the railroad that more goods were sold. The two are offset, in fact, most of the businessmen have increased their business. However, there are always some businessmen, because new businessmen have joined, they can't do it and are full of complaints. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The previous businessmen naturally had unsustainable problems, and they will be even more powerful in the future." Now that it occupies the Western Regions, the mall has not yet opened there, and when the mall buys and sells goods, a large number of merchants must change, otherwise they will not be able to survive. Times are different, and I still want to do business like before, how can I do it without eating the ancients? ”

Dai Zhuang said: "This is indeed the truth. However, I heard that the Western Regions is going to set up a new road, and I don't know how to open a shopping mall in the future. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The branch offices of each road are the first things that there is no way to do on Jingxi Road. Now there are more shopping malls, and it should be the unification of the world in the future. It won't take long, and it should be done soon. After all, now that shopping malls are buying and selling, it is too troublesome to separate various roads, and I don't know how convenient it is to put them together. This is not a difficult matter, but it is just an edict of the imperial court. ”

The shopping mall was first set up by Du Zhongxiao when he was on Jingxi Road, and it was affiliated with Changping Division. In the future, all walks of life followed suit, and now all roads in the world have been widely opened. It's just that they are still independent, they have not been merged, and the imperial court has no special yamen. With the expansion of the market, the goods sold in each shopping mall are becoming more and more complete, and the merger is something that can be expected in the future, but it is an inevitable trend.