That year, that cicada, that sword

Chapter 220

"A new face?" A grain merchant who had just returned from the imperial capital secretly pointed to Xu Beiyou and asked his friends.

The three people at the table with him are all rooted in Jiangdu all the year round, and one of the wine merchants who is about the same age as him said softly: "His name is Xu Beiyou, he is the successor appointed by Lafayette Zhang, and he has just taken over for a short time. The two on his left, Mrs. Luo and Mrs. Tang, are also figures who can shake their feet three times in Jiangdu, and being able to sit on an equal footing with these two shows the energy of this young man."

"Master Zhang Lafayette?!" The grain merchant had obviously seen a lot of worlds and knew Zhang Xueyao's name, and said in surprise: "Isn't Mrs. Li the successor of Mr. Zhang Lafayette? How did she become this person? What happened inside?"

"I don't know very well, but I vaguely heard some rumors that this young man is a disciple of Mr. Gongsun. Not long ago, he just returned to Jiangnan from the northwest, and Taoist sects intervened in it. The water in it is very deep. It is not us who can Presumptuously." The wine merchant said in a low voice.

A younger businessman at the same table probably didn't know many secrets because of his age, so he interjected cautiously and asked: "You two, dare to ask, who is the old Buddha Zhang you two are talking about?" ?”

The grain merchant said with a smile: "Since I established the dynasty in the Great Qi Dynasty, there have been three big men sitting in Jiangdu City. They say that they are the same. No matter whether you are the Sansi Yamen or a high-ranking family, you have to give these three people a face. As time goes by, the people below will call you They are Lafayettes. The Lafayette Zhang we are talking about is one of them, named Zhang Xueyao, who was born in the Zhang family of Wei State. In the previous dynasty, he was conferred the title of princess by Emperor Dazheng. As for the other two Lafayettes, they are similar. They're all great people."

The younger businessman couldn't help but gasped and said, "Then have these Lafayettes come?"

"Why did they come here!" The wine merchant lowered his voice and said, "In the words of our businessmen, they are the masters, and Mrs. Luo and the others are the shopkeepers. If the shopkeeper can decide some things, the boss doesn't need to come forward."

The grain merchant then asked: "By the way, I know Lafayette Zhang, but who is this Mr. Gongsun?"

Gongsun Zhongmou has a great reputation and is even praised as "no one in the world knows the king", but this "who" does not refer to everyone, but to a small group of people who really stand at the pinnacle of power. In other words, Gongsun Zhongmou's fame comes more from the world of practice than from the secular world. Only those who have reached a certain level of status can know the meaning of the four words Gongsun Zhongmou.

The oldest old man on the table finally couldn't help but said: "Mr. Gongsun, that is a big man who is bigger than the three Lafayettes. I am old, and I have caught up with the days when Mr. Gongsun was in the south of the Yangtze River. I met once from a distance, but I couldn't say a word, so it's not a pity."

The old man subconsciously paused, and after a little hesitation, he said with emotion: "Mr. Gongsun's real name is Gongsun Zhongmou. As the successor disciple of the master, it is reasonable to be able to succeed."

With this beginning, the discussion about Xu Beiyou became more and more intense, and several nearby tables also joined in, revealing the grievances between Xu Beiyou and Duanmuyu, and even the story of staying in Xie Yuan, which seemed to be a budding figure. The young people are mysterious, even a little bit mysterious.

At this time, when these businessmen go to see Xu Beiyou again, they are not judging others, but a little jealous and awed. After all, since ancient times, heroes have been judged only by success or failure. That is penniless, but if you can get the position, even if the person sitting in that position is a pig, you can attract the worship of countless people.

The rich businessmen who were able to sit in the middle of the round table certainly didn't look at Xu Beiyou with awe, but they knew the details of Xu Beiyou better, and the more they knew, the more they feared this newcomer.

Xu Beiyou is the successor of Gongsun Zhongmou. What he learned from Gongsun Zhongmou is not only the way of swordsmanship, but also the ability to "weave webs". Gongsun Zhongmou once spent decades weaving a huge The network of contacts covers more than half of the world, and it is known as that no one in the world knows the king. Although Xu Beiyou is not as good as Gongsun Zhongmou, the network he built has already taken shape.

Let’s not talk about Gongsun Zhongmou and Zhang Xueyao, let’s look at the people Xu Beiyou has befriended one after another, Xiao Zhinan, Xiao Yuanying, Xie Suqing, Mo Shu, Zhang Baisui, Zhang Wubing, Chen Gongyu, and even Murong Xuanyin who is inseparable. Li Zhang, one of the chief officials of the dignified third division, is not even considered a celebrity, let alone behind Xu Beiyou, there is an old Han Ge who has returned to the temple.

These people might not all be able to help Xu Beiyou, but the name alone is enough to scare most people away.

From this point of view, Xu Beiyou is very lucky. He may not have any special talents, but compared with ordinary people, he has a way to reach the sky. These big figures that ordinary people will never get in touch with in his life, he can one by one. Making friends, the huge wealth contained in it is simply inestimable.

The affectionate greetings are finally over, and the time has come to cut the flesh with a knife.

Holding the wine glass, Xiao Bai stood up, first looked around, and wherever his eyes swept, everything was calm, and after the audience was silent, he slowly said: "I think everyone here knows about this king, this king In the early years, I spent some time in the army, and I was used to military orders and orders and prohibitions. I was not very familiar with these twists and turns, so I just said some things directly. This king is here, and I hope you can take care of the victims. For the concerns of the imperial court, donate generously and tide over the difficulties together."

Xiao Bai's eyes swept over everyone present again, and all living beings and all kinds of appearances came into his eyes.

Xiao Bai raised the wine glass in his hand, "Drinking requires wine orders. Today I make an exception and act according to military orders. My king's words are military orders, and you must obey."

Although Xiao Bai's tone was gentle, the firmness contained in the words was unmistakable, and no one could tolerate any objections.

All the people present stood up and responded with lowered hands: "I would like to follow His Royal Highness King Qi's order."

"Okay." Xiao Baixu pressed his hands down to signal everyone to sit down, looked at Xu Beiyou, and said flatly, "Beiyou, let's start with you first."

Unexpectedly, Xu Beiyou was startled suddenly, but he still stood up holding his wine glass, and respectfully said: "Xu respects His Royal Highness King Qi."

After all, Xu Beiyou drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, while Xiao Bai just took a sip and asked directly: "Beiyou, how much do you plan to pledge?"

After pondering for a while, Xu Beiyou said: "Just now His Royal Highness King Qi made it very clear that this is a major matter related to the state system, and everyone is responsible. Xu has little power and is willing to pledge 20 taels of silver."

20 taels!

Many businessmen who claimed to be worth millions suddenly turned pale.

Although they claim to be worth millions, this million net worth also includes all kinds of antiques and treasures, large and small properties, hoarded goods, real estate under their names and even the mansion they live in. In fact, the most cash available for use is 10 And if you donate all 10 taels of silver, your business will almost be over.

Xu Beiyou's offer was 20 taels, so how much should they donate?At least ten thousand taels of silver is needed, although it is not fatal, but it will also hurt muscles and bones.

"20 taels." Xiao Bai said with a playful smile on his face, "It's a little less, why are you also Mr. Gongsun's disciple, don't you have any courage?"

Xu Beiyou said neither humble nor overbearing: "Now my annual salary is 10 taels of silver, and 20 taels of silver has been my annual salary for two years, which is quite a lot."

"Two years and human life, which is more important?" Xiao Bai said softly.

"Accounts are not based on this calculation." Xu Beiyou lowered his eyes and said slowly: "The imperial court collects taxes from the people, and it is conservatively estimated that the annual tax revenue can reach more than 4000 million taels. Now that the people are suffering, the imperial court can't pay a few million taels of silver. Instead of asking us businessmen to take money for disaster relief, it is really unfair to take this money."

Xu Beiyou paused for a moment, raised his head to look directly at Xiao Bai, and said in a deep voice, "Everyone is responsible for the country's difficulties. This is true, but our money is not brought by strong winds, it is earned by every cent. Hard-earned money, so Xu still wants to boldly ask His Highness on behalf of everyone here, where did the court money go?"

The whole room was silent.

This young man is really daring, he dared to put such words into his mouth, and even confronted King Qi face to face!
But no one has to admit from the bottom of their hearts that this makes sense.

Is it a stunned young man who doesn't know much about the world?Or the hero of the Jianzong slant?
Or, a hero? !

(End of this chapter)