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Chapter 252
In the ancient city of Ji County, a caravan staggered under the ancient city.Li Chongjiu was riding a horse and wearing a leather robe, looking at the word Jixian on the top of the city wall, he couldn't help smiling.One thousand and three hundred years later, there are many high-rise buildings and heavy traffic. The imperial capital of the Chinese dynasty with a population of more than 300 million in later generations, according to today's point of view, is nothing more than a small county with tens of thousands of people.

Jicheng, known as Yandu or Yanjing in ancient times, is the ancient capital of Yan State among the seven heroes of the Warring States Period.Later, Murong Xianbei established his capital here for a short time, and then moved to Longcheng.Jicheng has been the capital twice.

Tens of thousands of people, it’s nothing now, it was already an important town at that time, the land of Jixian was the largest city in the ancient Youzhou, the most important town in the north, and the people in the north are more accustomed to calling this place Youzhou City , but not Jicheng.The vast mansion in the north of the city is Linshuo Palace, where Yang Guang's base camp was when he conquered Liao Dynasty.The waterway in the south of the city is where the Tongji Canal of the Grand Canal ends.

This trip was full of travel and dust, starting from Huaihuang Town, passing through the military capital Xing in the Eight Xings of the Taihang, bypassing the border gates of the Great Wall, and arriving at Ji County.Of course Li Chongjiu didn't come to nostalgia.It can be said that his intention to go to Ji County this time is to be courteous first and soldiers later. It would be best if he could win Fan Yang Lu's family, and Li Chongjiu could reuse it in the future.

Anyway, no matter what kind of noble family you are, those who can stand with me are comrades-in-arms, and those who cannot join my party are enemies.

At this time, it was just dawn, and the crescent moon was still hanging in the sky. Countless people and vendors who wanted to enter the city lined up, forming a long queue, waiting patiently outside the city.This Jixian County is a border town with the most traders and Fans, and many traders can enter the city directly without a license.

The inspection by the soldiers at the city gate was very lax, and they let them in after a glance.Li Chongjiu glanced at the long queue behind him, if he checked them one by one, he really didn't know how long the city gate would be blocked.But the more this is the case, the more prosperous Ji County can be seen.

When they got to Li Chongjiu, the guards at the city gate looked at Li Chongjiu and Wen Yanbo, who looked like an accountant, and seemed suspicious, but at this moment Lin Dangfeng stepped forward and said a few words.When the city gate soldiers saw Lin Dangfeng, they smiled happily and nodded to signal their caravan to enter.

Entering the city, you can already see the prosperity of Ji County. Walking along the streets, you can see rice shops, butcher shops, oil shops, Wushu shops, fruit shops, charcoal shops, pig iron shops, mill shops, and silk shops everywhere.There were crowds of people on the sidewalk, and they were not affected by the war at all.

After Jicheng was besieged by Wang Xuba not long ago, there was no war again. Although there were uprisings by rebels everywhere, with Xue Shixiong and Fan Yang and the Lu family sitting in the town, it is still in the north, and the people are more numerous A place to settle down.

Li Chongjiu lowered the brim of his hat and walked in the city, watching the prosperity of Ji County and nodded secretly, when suddenly there was a commotion all around.Li Chongjiu saw that the people on the left and right avoided the road one after another.Li Chongjiu was secretly surprised. He saw Sui soldiers in khaki war robes holding spears walking in, lining up on both sides, separating pedestrians and opening a path.

After that, more than a dozen servants each took a basin of water and spread the road in front of the road, and then some servants pulled up a long layer of yellow curtains on both sides of the road to block the line of sight.

Li Chongjiu smiled at Wen Yanbo, and asked Wen Yanbo knowingly: "Which family is beautiful, can travel like this?"

The man who looked like a butcher said: "This guy, it's the first time you come to Youzhou City. Besides Fan Yang Lu's, where else is there a second home?"

Wen Yanbo cupped his hands immediately and said: "I heard that the Lu family has four daughters, all of whom are beautiful and beautiful, who is going to travel?"
The butcher chuckled, and said: "You are asking the right person. My youngest is working in Lu's house. Yesterday, she told us that she is the eldest lady. She went to the east of the city to worship at the Yaoshi Temple with the second and fourth misses."

After the butcher said, a long row of carriages ran over the loess road. Li Chongjiu saw that even though there was a layer of yellow curtains, he could still see the maids beside the carriages, all of whom were in beautiful clothes. There are more women, servants, and grooms, and the curtains on the car are all parted, so you can see a few pretty figures, but you can't see each other's appearance.

Not being able to see his face, Li Chongjiu couldn't help but secretly said it was a pity, and when he turned his head to see Tu Zuo's salivating face, he couldn't help shaking his head.

The butcher saw Li Chongjiu's expression in a blink of an eye, and said with a smile, "Don't laugh, don't laugh, alas, we have a saying in Ji County, those who regret in this life are not able to marry a daughter from the Lu family."

Li Chongjiu laughed when he heard the words: "Daughter of the Lu family, brother, do you also have such a heart?"

The butcher smiled and said, "Of course I didn't say this sentence, but it was said by a prime minister who became an official back then, but it has been passed on for a long time, and everyone says so."

Wen Yanbo on the side nodded with his beard, and said with a smile: "I've heard that too. It was indeed a Wei Shi chancellor who said that it's a regret in my life that I didn't marry a daughter of the Lu family."

The butcher nodded and said, "I'm right."

After Lu's car drove by, the yellow curtain was removed, and everyone on the street resumed walking.Li Chongjiu continued on his way, and Wen Yanbo said: "The folks practice marriage, regardless of official rank, but the Fanyang Lu family is ashamed to marry other surnames because of their family prestige. People of the gentry are well known."

Lin Dangfeng said at the side: "That's right, it's not only about marriage, it's also about treating people differently. When my father was there, my Lin family was one of the largest merchants in Youzhou, but when I came to Lu's house, I didn't even have the qualifications to be in the main hall." No, even the servants said bluntly, don’t let the common people stain the mat in my house.”

Li Chongjiu couldn't help but be surprised when he heard that, although the status of a businessman is already low, it is too much for the Lu family to treat the Lin family like this.

At that moment, Lin Dangfeng and Li Chongjiu were joking and said: "The four young ladies of the Lu family are all in their boudoirs. If the envoy wants to subdue Fan Yang's Lu family, it is better to choose one as a marriage. Well, I still have to be a concubine, and I will be so angry at that time." Like the sons of noble families who maintain their own family background."

Li Chongjiu smiled when he heard this, but Wen Yanbo said seriously: "The Lu family only intermarries within the four major clans. Even though they have been suppressed by the imperial court in recent years and their momentum is not as good as before, they still choose the Li family in Longxi as their marriage."

"Longxi Li family?" Li Chongjiu couldn't help asking.

Wen Yanbo nodded and said: "Exactly, Lu Yuanming, the patriarch of the Lu family, had a good relationship with Li Ping in Longxi back then. The relationship between the two families has always been good. After the Li family in Longxi gained power, the Lu family was mostly married. But a few years ago, the emperor beheaded Li Ping. The Hun and Li Min clans, and the Li family in Longxi were hit, and several women from the Lu family were also exiled and implicated. Therefore, the Lu family has changed to get closer to Li Yuan, even though they know that Li Yuan is not the orthodox Li family in Longxi."

Li Chongjiu suddenly realized that this was another clan struggle within the Great Sui Dynasty. At that time, there was a saying that the Li family was the best in the world. At that time, the Li family in Longxi was the number one wealthy family in Guanlong. Yang Guang became murderous and wanted to cut off this serious trouble.However, the death of Li Hun and Li Min not only made the Guanlong gentry hate Sui Yang Emperor even more, but also made Li Yuan take advantage of Li Hun's death to win over the Li family in Longxi as his own family.

Lin Dangfeng is a businessman who doesn't know much about the internal struggles of the court, so he said immediately: "The same surname is Li, why the Li family in Longxi is fine, but the prefect is not. I think that if you want to rule the Lu family, you must first strip them of their arrogance. , so that we can subdue them."

Everyone was speechless at the moment, they went to stay at Lin Dangfeng's firm, and Li Chongjiu and Wen Yanbo went to Lu's house in person.Lu Mansion is located in the northwest of Jixian County. According to the layout of the city in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, this is a respectable position.

Li Chongjiu went out of the square gate, turned right along the street, and arrived after walking for half an hour. He heard that Lu's mansion was originally a lake. Later, he heard that Lu Mingyuan mentioned above enlarged the courtyard because he liked the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River. Build a government here.After bypassing a few thick trees, one can see a tall mansion in the distance, and the Lu Mansion actually occupies two whole squares in Ji County.

The Wutou Gate where Fan Yue was located was not accessible. Wen Yanbo led Li Chongjiu through the side door and came to a black-painted gray-tiled vertical door. Several servants looked like servants guarding the door.

Wen Yanbo immediately asked the servant to come forward and handed the famous thorn. After the other party took a look at the famous thorn, his face immediately changed into a bit of respect, and he turned around and handed it to a person in charge sitting behind the door.After looking at the famous thorns, the steward stood up and bowed in front of Wen Yanbo, saying: "So it's Wen Neishi from Taiyuan."
Wen Yanbo waved his hand and said, "I'm no longer in his position. May I ask if Mr. Da Lang is there?"

The steward asked, "Who do you dare to ask?"

Wen Yanbo said: "Of course it's Brother Ziyu."

The housekeeper suddenly said after hearing this: "Wait a moment, wait for me to report inside."

Afterwards, Li Chongjiu and Wen Yanbo waited in the anteroom, and after drinking a cup of tea, the steward reported respectfully: "Mr. Da Lang entertained some guests and said that he has no time today. He said that there will be a banquet in Mingyue Tower the next day. , when the time comes, brother Wen will be invited to join us, and it will be regarded as a welcome for your Excellency."

Wen Yanbo nodded when he heard this, and said: "Very well, please report back to Mr. Da Lang, and say that I will definitely go to the banquet in the future."

After Li Chongjiu finished speaking, Wen Yanbo was about to leave, but the steward immediately ordered someone to send a carriage to take them back to their residence.Wen Yanbo declined.

Li Chongjiu and Wen Yanbo returned to the residence together, Wen Yanbo looked unhappy, obviously he was still upset before the other party took a big air.

The next day, Li Chongjiu, Wen Yanbo, and a group of seven or eight attendants went to Mingyue Tower for a banquet.

This Mingyue Tower is the most prosperous market place in the city.When Li Chongjiu came to Mingyue Tower, the horses were tied to a lot, and the horses and carriages of various colors were all parked downstairs, and many horsemen and grooms were outside the carriages when the master was away. The sleeves chatted loudly with each other, laughing and laughing.

Li Chongjiu couldn't help being surprised, and asked: "What kind of place is this Mingyue Tower, so many people come here?"

Wen Yanbo shook his head to indicate that he didn't know. At this time, a carriage stopped beside him, and a man who looked like the second generation ancestor got off from it. He said with a sneer, "You don't know that the well-known opera masters from Dongdu came here to perform. What a bunch of people." Field Shehan who has never seen the world!"

(End of this chapter)