Wei Ni

Chapter 153 It’s me
You actually told me to take my status into consideration and not seek money for my livelihood just to be criticized by others?
But when have I ever tried to save my life and seek wealth?

In response to Emperor Cao Rui's instructions, Xia Houhui, who had left Simamen, felt very confused and did not know what he was referring to.

If it is said that he was referring to his previous arrangements for Sun Kan, who stayed in Qiaojun, to trade with the Yanshan barbarians, that would be impossible.

When Sun Kan was one year old, he had two trades with the Yanshan barbarians, both of which were for the exchange of daily biological materials. The profits were not huge and were all used in Qiaojun.

Emperor Cao Rui could not possibly know this.

Even if he knew about it, he would not do anything to ask him personally not to ask for money just for a little profit.

And if it is said that it is paper-making here in Yangquwu Fort, it is even more nonsense.

When Xia Houhui stayed at home last night and had a break to say goodbye to the newlyweds, Yuanji, the queen of Xi, told him in detail the progress of her own papermaking and improvement.

Yes, progress in improvement.

Because he hired a papermaker from Donglai County, Qingzhou with a lot of money, his family's workshop had already made paper.

And the quality is high, not inferior to the famous Zuobo paper.

But it is far from meeting Xia Houhui's requirements.

The reason is that he came up with the idea of ​​making paper, not to make money by selling paper, but to one day be able to engrave and print!

After all, you can only make a lot of money by selling paper!

There are only 80 wealthy paper-making and selling merchants in various states and counties, so why bother competing for money?
Engraving, printing and selling books are areas that no one is involved in nowadays!

Nowadays, all the books and biographies collected by every family are transcribed manually. Most of them hire people to copy them out stroke by stroke, which is called servant writing. Not only is the efficiency low, but also because there are few people who are good at calligraphy, the commission is extremely high.

Therefore, if you can successfully print books at home, how much can you sell them for?
Gee!

Xia Houhui felt that there was much to be done.

And this is a good thing that can add good reputation to the lintel, and it is also an elegant thing that promotes culture and education and is beneficial to the scholarly community. No one will denounce Xia Houhui as a profit-seeking person who is full of copper odor by selling books.

Therefore, Xia Houhui's request to the papermakers was that the paper must be suitable for printing, otherwise they must find ink that does not smear on the paper. During this period, as to what method the papermaker would use, how much money it would cost or how much additional manpower and material resources it would require, just contact Uncle Sun who was in charge.

He doesn't care at all, he just wants results.

Last night, Wang Yuanji mentioned that she had not yet found a suitable printing method for the paper at home. She only gave some of the surplus paper to Wang Su, her wife, for practicing pen writing, and Xiahou Heti took away some and gave it to Wang Ji and Wang Ji. Xia Houheng's story did not spread at all outside his home, let alone imitating merchants and making profits.

Naturally, there is no way to mention the theory of managing life and seeking wealth.

Could it be that Sun Shu was secretly raising a young boy and was discovered by the school officials and reported to Emperor Cao Rui?
Involuntarily, Xia Houhui, who had never figured out the reason, suddenly felt guilty.

Anyway, this kind of thing is taboo.

Once he is convicted of "conspiracy to commit rebellion", even his status as a descendant of Yuan Xun Qiao Pei can't protect his head.

"Did Uncle Sun say anything before leaving? When will he return from Hanoi?"

When Zhang Li, who had been waiting silently outside Sima Gate, came up to him, Xia Houhui, who felt a little uneasy, immediately asked.

The retinue Zhang Likong was strong in martial arts and loyal, but he was quicker with his hands than his brains, so he was left by Xia Houhui as a guard in Yangquwu Fort, and by the way, he encouraged the children of his tenants to practice martial arts. It also allowed Uncle Sun to be separated and devote himself to doing shady things for Xia Houhui such as adopting a child.

"Master, Uncle Sun didn't say anything."

Zhang Li, who handed over the horse's reins and consciously led the way, shook his head, "However, if Uncle Sun doesn't know when he will return every time he goes out, he will be back in six or seven days and up to half a month. Uncle Sun has been out for eight days now. He should be coming back. By the way, Patriarch, the city gates have been locked and the curfew has been announced. We need to return to the small house in the west of the city as soon as possible. "

"it is good."

With a slight nod, Xia Houhui urged the war horse to go faster, but also gave instructions, "Get up early the next day, come outside this door and wait for Yi Quan to enter the palace, and let him find some time to meet me."

Since Uncle Sun's return date is uncertain, let's find Xia Houhe and ask.

As the daily companion of the Sanqi Shilang, he may have heard some rumors.

Furthermore, the emperor Cao Rui just gave him some advice.

It's not a reprimand or accountability to him, so it can be inferred that the matter is not urgent yet.

If you want to find out the specific reason, there is no rush.

Don't get yourself into trouble.

With such thoughts, Xia Houhui calmed down and began to think about the people he should visit or entertain during his free time when Qin Lang led his army back to Luoyang.

In the human relationship above the official career, some things are unavoidable.

Speechless all the way.

When he returned to the small house, he walked into the front hall and saw Xia Houhe and Sun Lou busy roasting meat in front of the fire pit.

When Xia Houhe saw that he was back, he complained with a gurgling smile, "Sixth brother made me wait easily. I cut meat and sold wine at Shenshi, but I waited till the end of the day. I was so hungry that I couldn't bear it. Sixth brother still didn't show up." Return."

"Ha, that Yi Quan was waiting in vain." Xia Houhui was happy that Xia Houhe came without warning, and couldn't help but joked before saying, "Your Majesty gave me meals when he saw that the sun was approaching dusk, so he came back late. A little. Well, I’m not hungry, so you can do whatever you want.”

After saying this, he did not forget to signal Zhang Li who followed him in to have a meal together.

But Sun Lou, the steward, is very discerning.

He knew that Xia Hou and Uninvited Lai must have something to discuss with Xia Hou Hui, so he took some food and pulled Zhang Li to another room, leaving the two brothers some space to be alone.

as predicted.

After the two of them left, Xia Houhe, who was dining alone, made clear his purpose of coming, "Sixth brother, it was the eldest brother who asked me to come find you. I want to tell you two things."

"Well, let's talk about justice."

Xia Houhui had already expected this, so he rolled up his clothes and found a comfortable sitting position to wait for the next step.

"First, after Cao Zhaobo returned to the capital with the heads of the Xianbei bandit chiefs, he was highly praised by the government and the public. Now is the time when he is proud. My eldest brother asked me not to have any disputes with him."

"Well, when Yi Quan returns, I will tell my eldest brother that I know how to handle this matter and have no intention of quarreling with Uncle Zhao."

Hearing this, Xia Houhui nodded without thinking.

Because the eldest brother Xia Houheng knew that Cao Shuang was not on good terms with him, he was worried that Cao Shuang would say some slanderous words when he was proud, and he could not restrain his temper and fight with him.

"I knew that Sixth Brother would answer like this."

Xia Houhe, who was chewing the roasted meat in his mouth, said in a somewhat unclear voice, "But the eldest brother just doesn't believe me and insists that I must tell the sixth brother."

"Hey, it's just a matter of passing words to the left and right, so what's the point of complaining?"

Xia Houhui chuckled happily, waved his hand and said, "Besides, it's not like Yi Quan doesn't know my eldest brother's character."

"That's all I said, I'm not complaining about brother."

Xia Houhe hurriedly said something. He took a sip of wine to moisten his throat before continuing, "The other one is that the eldest brother claimed that he had already found a candidate for your entrustment to find Bu Qu, but he is not in Luoyang now. But before A few days ago, I learned that the victory over Xianbei and the Northern Expedition army would be returning soon, so the eldest brother wrote a letter to summon him to his home in Yanzhou. The sixth brother saw him in three to five days or ten days later. "

"oh?!"

Xia Houhui's eyes burned immediately, and he suddenly sat up straight, his face filled with joy, "Who is the queen? What is her last name?"

You should know that he wrote a letter to Xia Houheng that day, requesting that he select for his subordinates among the descendants and nephews of his father's old army. The requirement was that they should be talented military officers who could be trained to become trusted generals in the future.

"I knew he was the nephew of my father's old general."

But Xia Houhe's answer was to spread his hands, "As for his last name, the eldest brother didn't say it clearly. Well, by the way, he is not old and is not a weakling, so the sixth brother does not need to worry about the fetters of marriage and extramarital affairs. "

uh~
Who are the generals from my father's old army who were originally from Yanzhou?
There are many people in this range, and it’s really hard to guess~
It’s true, eldest brother, there is something unspeakable between brothers, why are they so fussy!
He raised his eyebrows and pondered his thoughts for a moment, but never imagined that the person was Xia Houhui from that family. He complained in his heart and simply gave up guessing. Anyway, it was not bad in the past few days.

"Yi Quan, thank you eldest brother for me."

He reached out to grab Xiahou and the wine bag in his hand and took a big sip. Xiahouhui wiped the wine stains on his beard with his sleeves and said, "Well, if that person arrives in Luoyang, Yiquan will lead him to a small house outside the city." Come and meet me. There are many people in Luoyang City, and I don’t want to be teased by others.”

"Okay, I understand."

In response, Xia Houhe stopped talking and buried his head in his desk to concentrate on his meal.

Xia Houhui also remained silent.

He was now thinking about whether to let Zhang Li or Uncle Sun go to Yanmen County with his handwritten letters and assets to ask Qianhong for help in purchasing a good horse.

Well, prepared for the upcoming retinue.

If you plan to train him to become your direct descendant in the military, you will naturally have to win over him carefully.

At the same time, he was also a little annoyed that he dedicated both foals to Emperor Cao Rui.

If he had known that Xia Houheng had helped him find a retinue, he would have simply left a pony as a meeting gift.

There was silence in the front hall for a while.

After dinner, Xia Houhui went to the courtyard to get water from the well to rinse his mouth and hands. When he returned and sat down, he interrupted Xia Houhui's thoughts, "Sixth brother, what are you thinking about? If you have nothing else to do, just tell me Let’s talk about the battle against Xianbei.”

"Hey, military campaigns are just about fighting for our lives against the enemy. Yiquan doesn't like martial arts, so what's there to say?"

Xia Houhui handed the wine bag to his seventh brother, pursed his lips, and said with some caution, "I have something urgent, and I want Yi Quan to take a look at it." After saying that, without waiting for Xia Houhe to ask questions, he said directly, "That's right. The Emperor summoned me today to ask about the Northern Expedition to Xianbei. However, when I was leaving the palace, the Emperor told me not to seek wealth without relying on my status. However, I thought that I had nothing to do with my family. , and there are no merchants seeking profit, so I don’t understand the emperor’s intention. Is it possible to know the reason for this?”

"Sixth brother, I can't understand the emperor's intention."

Su Rong pondered for a moment, and Xia Houhe shook his head slightly, "I am sure that no one will talk about the rights and wrongs of the Sixth Brother these days, and I will accompany you."

Before he finished speaking, his face suddenly paused as if he remembered something.

After he raised his head and looked at Xia Houhui for a moment, he said with some embarrassment, "Well, Sixth Brother, maybe, well, if nothing else, I should be the one who made Your Majesty misunderstand Sixth Brother."

(End of this chapter)