Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 397 Returning to Beijing and Thinking of Li Wan
"Report! Lord Marquis, Grand Eunuch, the money on the boat has been transported, and the motorcade is ready and can set off at any time."

On the shore, while the two were talking,
Heard not far away,
When the imperial guards came to report, Zhang Jinyu and Zhao Si immediately fell silent, looked at each other, and each nodded.

"I know, everything has been tied up by the Zajia family. Don't be careless. Also, where is the money from the Zajia family and the Marquis?"

Eunuch Zhao looked at the person coming and said loudly on purpose, so that his money could be clearly distinguished.

The visitor hurriedly responded;

"Back to the Grand Eunuch, you and the Marquis have also prepared their money early and parked it in two batches."

"Well, go down and inform Li Qianhu and Ji Qianhu to call down all the people from our Imperial City Department and prepare to enter the capital."

"Yes, Grand Duke."

People who come leave in a hurry,

Seeing that the soldiers around him had disembarked and had all assembled into small square formations, Zhang Jinyu also felt that the time was almost up. The emperor must also be waiting anxiously inside.

He turned to Ning Bian behind him and said,
"Ningbian, you take 500 people with me to Beijing, and then send someone to notify Wei Yong and ask the guards of the Hou Mansion to escort his mother and the others back to the house. Duan Hong leads the brothers from the Pioneer Camp back to the Dongcheng Camp to have a good rest. I also asked Commander Lu Yi and his people to set up camp at the Guards Pier in the capital and rest there. I will meet the Emperor and ask him for credit."

"Yes, Lord Marquis, I will go and deliver the order right away."

Ningbian received the order, turned around and left to arrange matters on the ship.

"Master Hou, shall we enter Beijing now?"

When Zhao Si saw Zhang Jinyu finished explaining the matters and looked at the people from the Imperial City Division who had been waiting on the dock for a long time, he tried to ask.

"Okay, I don't dare to delay for too long, I'm afraid the emperor will be impatient."

Zhang Jinyu nodded in agreement, not daring to delay any longer. There might be secret guards around him, so he walked a few steps forward and came to where the guards were waiting. He took the reins, got on the horse, and looked at Ning Bian. After coming over with 500 cavalrymen, he raised his whip and shouted,
"All officers and men obeyed the order and escorted the convoy into Beijing."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

The entire team responded in unison, and the convoy slowly started and headed towards the capital.

Behind you, the dock.

Mrs. Wang led everyone, got off the boat and changed to a carriage, and was escorted back to the Marquis Mansion by the guards led by General Wei Yong. Duan Hong also gathered his troops, leaving a few people to guard the Marquis' ship, and the rest The people went straight to the Dongcheng camp where they were staying.

Inner City of Beijing,

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation,

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong rarely reviewed the memorial. He kept tapping his fingers on the table, looking extremely concerned. He looked at Dai Quan standing next to him, lowered his hands to serve him, and asked without saying a word;

"What's going on? Why did Marquis Luo Yun and Zhao Si suddenly come back so quickly? I remember it was only half a month ago when I last replied to a letter. Could it be that they came back right after writing the letter?"

"Your Majesty, it should be true. Maybe something happened in the south of the Yangtze River, or the Marquis just wanted to escort the money. Now the Marquis of Luo Yun has led his troops back to the capital, and according to the report from the Imperial City Secret Guard, the Marquis of Luo Yun ransacked his house in the south of the Yangtze River. But after checking many people’s homes and bringing back more than 1000 million taels of silver, I really never expected it.”

Dai Quan also swallowed his saliva. Jiangnan was so rich, and the families of several salt merchants and officials had so much money. Then there were more others. What Dai Quan thought of was beyond the imagination of Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong.

Zhou Shihong sat there with squinted eyes and did not speak. Instead, he put his hands together and groped. Luo Yunhou was in a hurry to come back, either because he encountered difficulties or to avoid disaster. He brought tens of millions of taels of silver with him. No matter how careful he was, It is not an exaggeration, but Jiangnan has not yet robbed the homes of officials of fifth rank and above, and they have so much money. If they robbed them, Emperor Wu did not dare to think about it anymore. He only felt his anger rising, and thought of a lot of Hanlin Jing. Officials, some officials don't even have a smaller house, and the money they spend is not as good as that of an ordinary wealthy family. Those people have only been out for a few years, and they all have a lot of money. They should be killed.

"I didn't expect that after just so many years of stability, the Jiangnan side would be so wealthy. The officials are even richer. They are really greedy. I don't know if those centuries-old families and nobles are even more greedy."

"Your Majesty, calm down. This matter still needs to be heard. After all, they know what Luo Yunhou and Zhao Si mean."

Dai Quan dared to let the emperor think nonsense, and after some consolation, he secretly resented that those people in Jiangnan would deceive the superiors and subordinates like this. The filial piety in the capital was getting less and less year by year, and the Miscellaneous family was afraid that they would also be deceived.

"By the way, how much money did Luo Yunhou and Zhao Sita bring back to the house?"

Emperor Wu asked expressionlessly. He didn't know what he was thinking. Dai Quan didn't dare to hide it and told what the secret guard saw.
"Back to the emperor, the Marquis took about 70 taels of silver from the ship and sent it back to the house. Zhao Si also took 50 taels of silver. The Marquis also brought some antique calligraphy and paintings and a lot of books. It must have been during the house raid. The ones we collected all came to Beijing with the convoy, so there was no taboo."

After saying this, Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong sat behind the writing desk, his face obviously relaxed. He was not afraid that they would not take the money, but that they would not take it. Marquis Luo Yun was still thoughtful and loyal. He did not take so much money, but instead took more money. I also took some books. As expected of him, he is so talented.

"Marquis Luo Yun has been working hard for so long, so the amount of money he has taken is a little short. However, it shows that Marquis Luo Yun still appreciates literati, and he actually has the leisure to collect books. He is quite happy."

"Your Majesty has a keen eye, and what he said is absolutely correct. Marquis Luo Yun has always had a good impression of the civil servants since he entered the capital earlier. Otherwise, he would be able to marry the daughter of a civil servant without any family background, which is very valuable."

Dai Quan followed the emperor's words, but he knew in his heart that Luo Yunhou had some sectarian views. He was simply incompatible with some nobles. It was really puzzling. Logically speaking, it was not because the civil servants were crowding out each other, so why did Luo Yunhou become the leader? I went straight here alone.

The corners of Emperor Wu's lips twitched. Some nobles found it difficult to ascend to the upper echelons of elegance. Marquis Luo Yun was also excusable. After all, he had been outside the customs. There were so many frivolous people. But he came at the right time. The capital needed him just when he was needed. , the three princes are about to build a mansion, and this matter needs to be discussed with Marquis Yun before it is settled, "Dai Quan, let someone send a message. The three princes are waiting in the east pavilion of Yangxin Palace with their strategies. I will I was so busy that I forgot about the affairs of the three of them, and it just so happens that we can resolve them together today, and where is Prince Zheng’s son Zhou Zhengbai now?”

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will send someone right now. Prince Zheng arrived in the capital ten days ago. After getting off the pier, he went to Yunshan Academy in the West City, and then went to stay at Zuixian Tower in the East City. He never left the restaurant. Every day Every day people go to various parts of the capital to buy all kinds of food, as if they were traveling."

"Huh, if that's really the case, why wouldn't I be happy? Hey, I'll keep an eye on it all the time."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

inside the city,

Zhang Jinyu rode at the front of the team, admiring the prosperity of the capital with Eunuch Zhao.

All the way to the city gate,
The huge number of refugees from earlier can no longer be seen. The shacks and ditches that can be seen everywhere have long since been demolished and filled up, leaving only a small market for resting at the city gate. Moreover, the town on the other side of the dock seems to have expanded a lot. I have to lament the actions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. So fast.

Zhang Jinyu also received letters from outside the customs one after another. Now, more than 50 refugees have been transported from inside the customs. They have been successively resettled around Pingyang County and Pingliao City. This has greatly alleviated the labor force outside the customs. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not know where to collect them. The refugees found have never stopped and have been transported to this day. It has hindered the hands and feet outside the customs. I am afraid it was the idea of ​​the court or the emperor, but at least it was an advantage for me.

Watching the motorcade arrive at the West Gate,
The deputy general of the Five Cities Military and Horse Division at the city gate had already cleared the people under the city gate with his troops and horses, and was waiting outside the city.
When the motorcade arrived at the city gate, the deputy general immediately came up, knelt down on one knee, and saluted.
"The general has met the Marquis and the Grand Eunuch."

"Get up, brothers, work hard, let's continue."

Zhang Jinyu didn't answer, and threw the silver ingot that he had prepared. After the deputy general took it, his face was full of joy, and he bowed again;
"Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your reward. Lord Marquis, the roads in the city have been cleared for you a long time ago. Lord Marquis, just drive slowly."

"Well, keep going."

As the voice fell,

The convoy continued to move forward, and the soldiers and horsemen stood on both sides of the road to separate the crowd, which alleviated some trouble.

Not far away,
In the market square of Xicheng, in a silk and satin shop, I saw a familiar figure. I couldn't see it clearly because it was far away. When I tried to look again, the figure disappeared. This made Zhang Jinyu feel a little melancholy. Who could it be? Zhong naturally thought of the tenderness of that young woman Li Wan.

He shook his head and smiled to himself. As time went by, the first thing he did when he returned to Beijing was to think of her. I don’t know how he is doing now.

It's true that the car is far away and the horse is far away. I can't forget to remember you. '

And inside the silk door, Suyun said beside her;

"Miss, Miss, the Marquis is back, the Marquis is back."

Li Wan's face turned red, he patted Suyun's hand and said softly;
"I know, I've seen it all, don't shout,"

"Yes, miss,"

The little girl Suyun looked at the people around her and blushed secretly.

Li Wan's cheeks were also blushing, and he couldn't help but miss him so much. He had gone to Jiangnan for so long and finally came back, but he just didn't know where to go.

"Miss, let's hurry up and buy things and transport them back to the old house. They haven't been packed up yet."

Suyun's words woke up Li Wan, who was still thinking wildly, and he replied in a panic;

"Yeah, I bought them all, let's go back now."

"Yes, ma'am."

The two masters and servants selected extremely brightly colored silk and satin, carried it into the carriage, and hurried back to the old mansion.

Eunuch Zhao followed behind, looking back at the extremely long motorcade from time to time. He was still quite worried and didn't know if the people from the Taiping Sect were still there.

"Master Marquis, is the queue too long? Do you still need to notify the Imperial Army to come? The Za family is always afraid of those bastards from the Taiping Sect coming out to cause trouble."

Zhang Jinyu turned around and looked behind. The people from the Imperial City Division were firmly guarding both sides of the convoy. In the middle of the team was Li Yun Qianhu, who was leading the formation. Ji Qianhu was holding the line at the end. There were five hundred elite cavalry in front of him. Unless a large army was used in the capital, otherwise He was really not afraid. Looking at Eunuch Zhao who looked uneasy, he smiled and said,

"Brother Zhao, don't worry. The Taiping Sect's people are not ordinary gangsters. What they have done now has been famous for a long time. If we do it again, I'm afraid the gains will outweigh the losses. Besides, how many people do you think can rob us?"

"What the Marquis said is that the Za family is overly worried, and they can't let go until the money comes to Da Nei."

Eunuch Zhao suddenly realized and smiled bitterly.

(End of this chapter)