A thousand-year-old family that began with the Battle of Makino

Chapter 894: The Eight Great Merchants of Hedong Guild Hall, Songxi Noble Residence is Not Easy

The second year of Zhenyuan
In the fifth year of Jianzhong, Li Shi, who saw the strength clearly and accepted his fate and acknowledged the existence of the major vassal states, finally received full support from the major states.

In July, with the help of more than 100,000 troops from various military garrisons including Ma Sui of Hedong Town, Hun Yu of Hezhong Town, Li Sheng of the Shence Army, Yan of Jiannan Town, and Li Mi of Shannan Town, Li Shi successfully put down the rebellion of Li Huaiguang and Zhu Ci in Chang'an and returned to Chang'an.

Shortly after returning to Chang'an, news came from Hebei that the Youzhou rebel leader Zhu Tao was defeated by Wang Wujun of the Wei Bo army. He retreated to Fan Yang and died of depression. Youzhou was thus pacified.

Then Li Xilie of Huaixi failed in his attack on Bianzhou and was captured by Bai Ming, the governor of Xuanwu Army. He was presented to Chang'an and his head was hung at the south gate of the capital to intimidate other towns.

The remaining rebellion in Huaixi was then suppressed by Henan Jiedushi Tian Shenyu, Bai Ming, Li Mian and other governors who joined forces with the militia, guarding, defense and observation envoys in the south of the Yangtze River.

The rebel generals either died or surrendered, and with the addition of Tian Yue and Li Na who had already surrendered in response to the imperial edict, the Tang Dynasty suddenly became quiet for a while.

Apart from the ruined villages in Chang'an and other places and the wild graves all over the mountains, it seemed as if nothing had happened.

Due to the turmoil in Chang'an and the jealousy of talented people and the factionalism of former Prime Minister Lu Qi, the court lost Yang Yan, Yan Zhenqing, Yan Ying, Zhang Yi, Li Kui, Du You and others in just a few years.

Some died in war, some died in political persecution.

After returning to Chang'an, Li Shi first changed the reign title to Zhenyuan, intending to mend his past mistakes.

Later, seeing that there were many vacancies in the court but no one was available to fill the positions, he decided to hold an imperial examination to restore the literary atmosphere in Chang'an, recruit talents, and fill the court positions.

So this year, scholars and writers from all over the country gathered in Chang'an to prepare to take part in this year's spring examination.

Chang'an, east of the city, Hedong Guild Hall.

The Hedong Guild Hall is located in Changlefang, adjacent to Baifu. It was founded with funds raised by Shanxi merchants who brought together the wealthy families and big merchants from Hedong.

It was used as a temporary residence for Hedong people in Chang'an, just like a post station or a tavern, which could provide food, wine and accommodation, and was highly praised by the people of Hedong.

Similar to the Hedong Guild Hall, the vast city of Chang'an was dotted with several guild halls in various places, all of which were jointly hosted by local chambers of commerce and local government.

First, it served as a liaison between the local area and the capital, Chang'an; second, it served as a place for local officials and civilians to stay.

It is a joint venture between the government and private sectors and occupies a large area.

The Gongfengyuan in the south of the city had a similar function and was founded entirely by local feudal lords.

Since the current emperor moved to Fengtian, he has actually acknowledged the local military governors' possession of the local areas and clarified the tax sharing between the military governors and the imperial court.

Therefore, local warlords came to Beijing to set up tribute offices and dispatched tribute envoys, in order to present annual tributes to the court, to inquire about the news of the court, and to win over important officials of the court to make profits for their own warlords.

Therefore, although Chang'an has experienced many wars, its role as the political center of the world remains undiminished.

Looking at the scholars and students all over the city, you will know that the name of the Tang Dynasty is still very useful in the local area.

In order to accommodate as many local scholars as possible, the Hedong Guild Hall opened a two-person dormitory in the shed, where two people could stay together.

Because the accommodation fees in the guild halls were half the price of those outside, most scholars who came to Beijing would go to live in local guild halls with their certificates.

Since the establishment of the three joint chambers of commerce of Beijing, Jiangsu and Qi, they have been rampaging and conquering businesses all over the world by relying on their common advancement and retreat and size advantages.

First, the Beijing merchants occupied the Guanzhong business community and moved into Hanzhong, but were later blocked by the Bashu Chamber of Commerce [Shu merchants] in the city.

Then the Qi Shang moved westward to Henan, defeated the newly established Liang Shang in Henan, forced it back to Bianzhou, and then stationed in Luoyang, occupying all the land south of the Yellow River and north of the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers.

Finally, Jiangsu merchants occupied Haili, Shanxi merchants occupied Hebei, Xiangyang established the [Jing merchants], and Jiangzhou established the [Hui merchants], dividing the Jingchu business community.

Therefore, at this time when the world situation is unclear, the business community has been divided and each has its own territory.

[Beijing merchants] occupied Guanzhong and Hanzhong, and controlled the Hexi trade route. [Suzhou merchants] occupied the Jiangnan coastal area and the Jianghuai region, and controlled the benefits of the ocean.

[Qi merchants] occupied Shandong and Henan, and took control of the Yellow River and Beiyang triangle (Qi-Korea-Japan).

These three are the best among the eight major chambers of commerce in the world.

Secondly, [Shanxi merchants] occupied Hedong, Hebei, grasslands and Liaodong.

[Shu merchants] occupied a corner of Bashu, and had connections with Tubo, Central and South China, Yunnan and Guizhou. They were on good terms with them.

[Jing merchants] [Hui merchants] occupied the middle reaches of Chang'an and cut off the benefits of the Yangtze River.

[Liang Shang] monopolized the canal and made huge profits by relying on Bianzhou, thus being able to compete with Qi and Su.

"I am Li Peng from Fenzhou. I don't know where your hometown is."

In the shed, Li Peng, who arrived first, was extremely enthusiastic towards his new roommates.

"Songxi Bai Juyi, nice to meet you, brother."

"Songxi? But the Bai family of Songxi?" Li Peng exclaimed to Bai Juyi.

Bai Juyi, dressed in a green robe, responded with a smile, without any condescending tone.

You must know that Songxi Bai family is the overlord of Hedong. Their descendants not only occupy high-level military and political positions in Hedong, but also control the world-famous Shanxi merchants. They are also the patriarch of the Bai family in the world and can command the descendants of the Bai family in the world. Their power is almost as strong as that of the royal family.

Upon hearing that it was the Bai family of Songxi, Li Peng became even more enthusiastic and hurried forward to help Bai Juyi with his luggage and make his bed for him.

Bai Juyi smiled bitterly and refused: "Brother Li, there is no need to do this."

Li Peng did not feel embarrassed. After helping him clean up, he immediately invited him to the front hall for a drink.

Bai Juyi was the same as a man who never hits a smiling person. He followed Li Peng to the front hall of the Hedong Guild Hall, which was the only way to the back building and was also a huge three-story restaurant.

The first floor is a place for tea and rest, the second floor is a place for eating and drinking, and the third floor is a place for meeting guests and private banquets.

The two of them went up to the second floor, and immediately a waiter came to guide them to their seats, ordered some food and drinks, and started chatting.

After three rounds of drinking, Li Peng finally couldn't help asking:

"Brother Bai, the Bai Mansion is next door. I heard that many of the Bai family's children live here. Since you are a Songxi family member, why don't you stay there?"

Bai Juyi said helplessly: "Brother Li, you don't know that although I am the Songxi Bai family, I am also the last generation. If my generation cannot make achievements, after the family is investigated, I will have to go out and establish my own family and find a place to establish the family."

"Is it really so? I really don't understand. Brother Bai is the descendant of the former Shangshu Zuo Pushe Huang Gong, and your father was appointed as the deputy governor of Xuzhou. A family of officials and scholars of classics are respected no matter where they are. How can your family be excluded?"

Li Peng was born into a small powerful family in Fenzhou. His ancestors were Hu people and a family of warriors. Most of his elders served in the Hedong army, and their military positions were not high.

He was the only "Wenquxing" in his generation, so they sent him to Chang'an to take the imperial examination in the hope of changing the family's fortunes.

Bai Juyi smiled bitterly and said, "My father and I have achieved so little compared to the achievements of the other members of our family."

Then Bai Juyi told Li Peng about his cousin who passed the imperial examination at the age of 24 and was appointed as a soldier in a certain state, which was an achievement that his father had made in the course of more than ten years.

"The Songxi Bai family is well-deserved of its reputation. They have produced wise ministers and famous generals. They are truly a noble family of the country."

(End of this chapter)