On the 10th day of the first month of the fourth year of the Great Song Dynasty, it was snowy.

The temperature around Kaifeng Province is not too low, at least much warmer than north of Hengshan, but still not enough to melt the snow that fell a few years ago.

The large fields on the side of the road are all white.

A warm breeze blowing from the southeast slightly dispelled the cold air that shrouded Kaifeng Mansion, making people feel the breath of the coming spring.

Further on, you can see the red city wall. This is supposed to be a new wall built after the city expanded slightly westward, using the technique of rammed earth bricks, covering the surface of the city wall with countless red bricks. In the sunlight, it exudes an indestructible majestic atmosphere.

Because the canal has not yet frozen, the commercial activities of the entire Kaifeng Prefecture are not very active, and there are not too many cars and horses coming and going outside the city.

Wu Haogu rode a horse, surrounded by dozens of utility knights and staff, and walked along the official road. He breathed in the familiar and slightly unfamiliar air, and at the same time felt a little like an arrow.

It's been months of separation, and I don't know how it is at home? Is the eighteenth sister okay? How much have the children grown taller?

Probably after experiencing real battlefield battles and seeing other people's homes ruined, Wu Haogu now cherishes his wife, children and family more and more. When I think of them, I feel a sweet feeling in my heart. The closer you get to the red walls, the more you feel the exhaustion of the warriors returning. Mi Youren walked side by side with him on the side, frowning all the way.

Mi Youren went from Jiehe Commercial City to Xiangzhou to meet Wuhaogu, and reported the situation of Shangshi to Wuhaogu along the way.

I don't know if it was because of the absence of the great god Wu Haogu or the war between the Great Song Dynasty and the Western Xia that caused panic - people feared that once the Liao State was involved in the war, Jiehe Shang City would become the target of the Khitan iron cavalry trampling. In short, the commercial market is now panicked, and real estate prices have fallen for the first time since the market opened, and they have fallen for several months, and many property prices have lost 30%.

In addition to the decline in real estate prices, what is even more worrying is the secret performance proposed by Lu Yihao, the former general judge of Cangzhou, to take over Jiehe Commercial City and set up Jiehe Prefecture when Song Liao provoked - although it is a secret performance, Mi Youren is also Zhao Ji's confidant, so he naturally knows it.

Mi Youren said: "Teacher, the official family did not show Lu Yihao's secret music to the Zaizhi, they may ask your opinion first, you have to think about how to answer." ”

"How do you think you should answer?" Wu Haogu asked.

Mi Youren shook his head: "The students don't know ...... either"

"I don't know what the official family thinks?"

"I don't know if the Khitans will really go to war with us...... Mi Youren analyzed, "If the Khitans don't fight with us, our unilateral takeover of the business market will undoubtedly be a declaration of war against the Khitan." The battle in the northwest has not been settled, and no one dares to open another battlefield in Hebei. ”

Wu Haogu nodded, noncommittal.

Mi Youren said again: "If you can be sure that there will be no war with the Khitan, then the teacher should be more selfless...... Anyway, the imperial court didn't dare to move the river merchant market.

If there is a possibility of war, then the teacher will return to Jiehe Shang City in the end. In this way, even if the imperial court wants to take over the Shang City, the teacher can become the first governor of Jiehe. ”

Wu Haogu smiled lightly: "I won't be the first Jiehe Zhizhou!" I don't know how to fight, how can I defend the Jiehe Market? ”

Mi Youren was stunned for a moment, "Teacher...... Jiehe Commercial Market is our foundation! ”

"Then you can't go to the Dangjie River Zhizhou." Wu Haogu sneered, "When you become a governor, there will be a general judgment, and there will be a lot of subordinate officials...... These are all civil officials of the imperial court! As a military attaché, can you manage them?

I can't be this Zhizhou! Don't pick it up! None of us can pick it up! ”

"None of us will take it?" Mi Youren was stunned, "Then who will go?" ”

"Who?" Wu Haogu sneered, "Lu Yihao and Cai You can do it!" The responsibility of defending the land, who will go if they don't go? ”

Mi Youren suddenly realized, "What does the teacher mean to make Jiehe Commercial Market so that no one dares to take over?" ”

Wu Haogu snorted: "It's time for people to know that the business market is hot...... I thought we had made a lot of money, but I'm afraid there were a lot of people who were greedy! I want to see who has the audacity to compete with me for the river market! ”

"But what if Lu Yihao really dares to accept it?" Mi Youren thought about it and asked, "Cai You is timid, so he doesn't dare to go." But Lu Yihao has the courage and is good at saddle horse bow and sword, maybe he dares to go to the boundary river. ”

Wu Haogu said lightly: "Then he will die!" ”

For Wu Haogu, it was too simple to let a person die in Jiehe Shang City, even if he was a dignified civil official and the governor of the Great Song Dynasty.

When the master and apprentice spoke, they had already arrived at the construction site of the new Wanshengmen in the west of Kaifeng Prefecture, and the new Wanshengmen was not the official name of this city gate that had not yet been built, its name was Wanshengmen. The reason why the word "new" was temporarily added is because there is still an "old Wansheng Gate" on the "old western wall" that has not yet been demolished. When the new west wall is fully completed and the old west wall is demolished, there will no longer be a distinction between the old and new Wansheng Gate, but only one Wansheng Gate.

There were guards and tax collectors, box soldiers and others outside the Xinwansheng Gate, and when they saw Wu Haogu and his party coming, an old prison gate in his fifties immediately came up with a smile on his face, and carefully welcomed Wu Haogu and Mi Youren into the city.

It has only been a few months since he left Kaifeng Mansion, and the appearance of the city, at least the west of the city, has been very different.

When I entered the new Wansheng Gate, I saw the "landmark buildings" Republic Building, the Painting Immortal Temple and the three-storey Christie's main store, which was originally used for experiments, and now has been rebuilt and expanded to become the main store of Christie's.

By the way, the planning of New West City was done by Huang Shilang's brother Huang Wulang, needless to say, it was naturally to maximize the interests of the Republic.

The Republic Building, Huaxian Guan, and Christie's head office have now become the center of the New West City business district, and they are truly prime locations.

In addition, Wu Haogu also acquired a large piece of land around the Republic Building early in the morning. Now it has also become a construction site, and Wanjia Real Estate is responsible for the construction and development of Wanda Wazi Kaifeng store.

Opposite the Gonghe Building, Huaxian Guan, Christie's main store and Wanda Wazi Kaifeng store, there are the properties of the Pan family, the Mi family, the Gao family, the Wanjia family and the Su family (Su Dalang's family).

There are Pan's small Pan building and Pan's gold and silver silk shop head office (new head office); Mijia is a millet firm specializing in selling southern goods and sea goods; The MGM Hotel jointly opened by the Gao family (Gao Yu his family) and the Mi family; the Marriott Hotel opened by Wanjia; There is also the Su family's Su Guozi Firm.

The buildings of these commercial houses, hostels, restaurants and banks are all three- and four-storey buildings, similar to the Republic Building. Because the building is tall, the construction time is relatively long, and now the foundation has just been laid, and it will take at least another year to complete the main building construction. As for the interior decoration, that's not accurate.

If all these buildings are completed, then the new Wanshengmen Street, where Wuhaogu is now located, will have a bit of the appearance of the commercial center in the west of Kaifeng.

To the south of Xinwanshengmen Street, it is the mansion area of Kaifeng Xinxi City and the location of Qionglin Palace, and to the north is a large area of "Shikumen" and "Tube Building" - the favorite house of the imperial house slave, right there!

Compared with the new city wall project of Kaifeng Mansion and the new Wanshengmen commercial street project, the favorite houses of these imperial house slaves are the fastest in construction. Even now, during the annual leave, the work has not stopped.

From time to time, horse-drawn carriages dragging red bricks pass in on the streets of New Wanshengmen. In order to build a house as soon as possible to meet the needs of the house slaves and warriors, Zhao Ji had to open the "Red Wall Ban" last autumn, allowing the people to use red bricks to build houses - the old Zhao family was first afraid of the military generals rebelling, and the second was afraid of the mutiny of the big soldiers.

If the house slave soldiers who exchanged the enemy's head for a house returned to Kaifeng Mansion and couldn't get the house, the heads of the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty would be in danger! Compared to a possible mutiny, it doesn't matter at all what color the brick is.

"Isn't this Wu Xuanzan? When did you come back? ”

"Ah......" Wu Haogu was riding a horse on the street of Xinwanshengmen, when he suddenly heard someone calling him, looked around, and saw a horseback attendant not far away. It turned out to be Liang Shicheng.

"Liang Daguan, where are you going?" Wu Haogu looked at Liang Shicheng and asked curiously.

"Just went to see the house."

"House? Are you going to buy a house? ”

"It's not our family that wants a house, it's the house of the dragon warrior and the knight in front of the palace...... The official family asked our family to supervise and urge us every day, but I was afraid that we would not be able to complete it on time. Now it's good to praise you for your return, and this errand will be yours in the future. ”

"Haha," Wu Haogu and Liang Shicheng are very familiar with each other, although all kinds of jokes can be said, "Liang Daguan, you have to come to this matter." A certain family just went back to Beijing to report on their work, and after they were done, they had to go to the northwest to fight. ”

"Still going to war? Will you? ”

Wu Haogu shook his head, "No, but it's okay...... Just have a deed! How to fight with Gao Taiwei and Tong Daguan, I will issue the house deed.

By the way, has this year's Imperial Martial Arts been held? How many warriors are selected? ”

"It's done, it's done." Liang Shi became enlightened, "more than 2,100 people were elected...... Everyone is gearing up to go to the northwest to make contributions. ”

"That's great," Wu Haogu smiled, "Now is the time for the Northwest to make meritorious contributions, Liang Daguan, has your five-year term in the frontier expired?" Do you want to go to the northwest to make contributions? ”

Liang Shicheng laughed: "Don't dare to go, I heard that the western thief is very fierce, our family is still waiting for the official's family in Qionglin Palace." ”

"The official family is in Qionglin Palace?"

"Yes," Liang Shi said, "after the palace caught fire in October, the official family has been living in Qionglin Palace. ”

"A fire at the palace?" Wu Haogu hurriedly asked, "Is it burning badly?" ”

"It's not amazing," Liang Shicheng said with a smile, "The old ones don't go, the new ones don't come...... Xuanzan, Qionglin Palace is not far from your Pear Blossom Courtyard, and it will be much more convenient for you to enter the palace in the future. ”

Wu Haogu smiled: "That's right, it's bothering the big official to talk to the official's family, take a certain and millet to settle down, and then go to the palace to meet you." ”