At the beginning, Emperor Yang of Sui was kidnapped

Chapter 65 This Prosperous World, Has It Ever Been What You Wished For?

Outside Yangcheng.

Xu Shiji had just received Li Mi's questioning, and shook his head with a wry smile.

Unlike those veterans under Li Mi's command, Xu Shiji is only 24 years old now, and belongs to the most marginal one under Li Mi's command.

When he was 17 years old, he witnessed the collapse of the Great Sui Dynasty and there was no cure, so he joined the Wagang Army and was under Zhai Rang at that time.

Two years ago when Li Mi entered Wagang, after beheading Zhang Xutuo, he was the one who urged Zhai Rang to abdicate and make Li Mi his lord.

Even voluntarily buying people's hearts for Li Mi can be said to be loyal to Li Mi.

But in the past two years, as various rebels joined Wagang, Li Mi entrusted them with important tasks, and turned to him more and more.

This time, he also missed the great achievement of capturing Luokoucang.

They can only be sent outside Yangcheng to keep watch.

"How could I not know about Sun Ying's attack last night? Wang Shichong raised his own self-esteem, and he used me to raise the tide of Wagang, and now he has become a general of the Sui army. If I want to make meritorious service, I must borrow Sun Ying!"

Putting down Li Mi's interrogation letter, Xu Shiji's eyes sparkled.

In his bones, he still regarded himself as a traitor.

After all, the world is the world of the Sui Dynasty, which is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The Wagang Army rebelled, and the name was not justified.

Unless one day, Wagang seized the world, then they will act for the sky and respond to the people.

For a long time, he was conceited about his strategy, but Li Mi didn't pay attention to him, and he didn't even have the chance to make meritorious service.

This formed a vicious circle, the more Li Mi despised him, the less he had the opportunity to make military exploits and show his true talent.

And now...

Xu Shiji looked at Yangcheng, ten miles away, with the corners of his mouth curled up.

At this time, outside Yangcheng, a series of merchant ships were slowly entering, and the defenders of Yangcheng were escorting them along the coast to prevent him from sneaking in.

And he didn't intend to harass at all.

"Sun Ying, the greater the threat you pose to the lord, the greater my contribution!"

Xu Shiji watched all this silently, and ordered the whole army not to act rashly.

After the heavy rain, he has been taking a wait-and-see attitude in the face of the Yangcheng defenders.

He watched while they dug the moat.

He was also watching as they attacked the logistics troops in the direction of Luokoucang last night.

When Li Mi and the others are unable to deal with Sun Ying, his chance to make contributions will come!
……

Luoyang City, He Ruozhuang.

After sending off the first batch of merchant ships, Xu Mu was in a very good mood.

With [-] shi of grain a day, how can anyone in the world be able to do it?
Now Xianweiju in Wanmin City is on the right track, occupying the entire high-end catering market in Luoyang.

The three major restaurants have become a thing of the past. Yesterday, Duan Xuankun even came to the door in person and asked Fan Zhu for peace.

The nursery rhyme compiled by Xu Mu spread throughout the streets and alleys of Luoyang City, and almost everyone knew the ugly face of the Three Great Restaurants.

The people in this era are simple and honest, and this kind of gossip spread very quickly, causing the business of the three major restaurants to go from bad to worse.

Everyone would rather go to Xianweiju to queue up than eat the leftovers from the three major restaurants.

So Duan Xuankun asked Fan Zhu not to add fuel to the flames any more, and secretly manipulated the situation.

As long as Xianweiju no longer contributes to the flames, the people will soon forget about it.

Over time, the three major restaurants can still pick up some old customers.

After all, the restaurant market in the entire Luoyang City is very large, far from being monopolized by the Xianweiju family.

however……

Fan Zhu refused sternly, "Sorry, Xianweiju is planning to open a second branch in Luoyang."

The implication is that Xianweiju will eat up the entire Luoyang restaurant market!

After hearing this, Duan Xuankun's face was gloomy, and he left without saying a word.

These were naturally instructed by Xu Mu.

His plan is to monopolize the industry.

Food is the most important thing for the people, starting with catering, and monopolizing the entire Luoyang City.

Because this piece of cake is really too big, after Xu Mu's rough calculation, the population of Luoyang City has reached one million!

Moreover, the people who can live in Luoyang, the eastern capital, all have small assets, and their spending power is the best in this era.

So he opened a restaurant in Yongkang, with a constant stream of people, and a daily profit of [-] guan.

In one month, it would be a terrifying number of six thousand!
And if they monopolize the restaurant market in the entire Luoyang City, their daily profit may even reach [-] guan!
In one month, it will be [-] guan!
A few decades later in the Tang Dynasty, a poem describing a wealthy businessman will be born: a hundred thousand guan in the waist, riding a crane to Yangzhou!

For Xu Mu, if he monopolizes the restaurant industry in Luoyang City, it will only be a two-month profit.

Thinking of this, Xu Mu couldn't sit still in He Ruozhuang.

Taking Wang Zhao along, Xu Mu went into the city to start selecting a site.

Prefer areas with high traffic.

After shopping all morning, Xu Mu decided on two locations, East Market and West Market, where he could open a new restaurant.

At noon, I just happened to visit the White Horse Temple, Xu Mu simply ate some noodle cakes at a small stall outside the White Horse Temple, and prepared to continue shopping in the afternoon.

Three restaurants are obviously not enough to cover a million people.

To digest the dietary needs of these common people, at least eight Xianweijus are needed.

"This bread..."

After taking two bites, Xu Mu felt a bit speechless.

In the Sui Dynasty, pancakes were popular all over the country, and some people even substituted pancakes for three meals.

It's just that I'm used to eating Xianweiju's food on weekdays. After Xu Mu took two bites, he felt tasteless and put it aside.

Wang Zhao, on the other hand, was never picky about his food, he ate with relish, and ate up his portion in a short time.

Xu Mu was about to continue shopping on a hungry stomach, when he suddenly saw a few beggars at the side of the stall carefully peeking at the noodle bread on his table with a bite out of it.

It is not accurate to say that they are beggars. Xu Mu turned his head and found that they were all children, about seven or eight years old.

Being stared at by Xu Mu, they quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

It's just that his stomach kept growling, his Adam's apple kept wriggling, and he peeked at the noodle bread on his table from time to time.

"There are still beggars in Luoyang City?" Xu Mu called the owner of the noodle stall.

The noodle stall owner quickly explained with a smile: "My lord, I don't know. These people were not beggars, but tenant farmers outside the city. A few days ago, there was a flood, which destroyed countless houses, and I don't know how many people died. , they were able to survive by luck, it is God's pity."

"There are quite a few people like this in the south of the White Horse Temple, and they all gather there." The noodle stall owner pointed to the south and sighed.

Xu Mu frowned, looking at the so-called prosperous Sui Dynasty, he shook his head.

Before the troubled times, there were 960 million households in the Sui Dynasty, with a total of about 5000 million people.

But at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty when the world was pacified and the population was counted, it was found that there were only more than two million households left.

Although many people became refugees and cannot be counted, there are probably countless people who died due to corvee labor, taxes, wars, disasters and other reasons.

"Wang Zhao, buy another ten catties of bread and distribute it to them."

Xu Mu looked down at the noodle cake on the table that he had bitten into, feeling quite heavy.

"My son is benevolent, he must be rich and powerful, and he will be a prince for generations." The noodle stall owner showed joy and said quickly.

It was precisely this purpose that he sighed with emotion just now.

Most of the people who go to the White Horse Temple to pray are noble people. These noble people are kind-hearted. With his few words of compassion, most people will buy more bread from him.

Xu Mu saw through the small thoughts of the stall owner at a glance, and shook his head slightly, but did not expose it.

No wonder the stall owner didn't drive them away when he saw these beggars gathering near the noodle stall.

"Give."

Wang Zhao bought ten catties of flour cakes and distributed them to the beggars.

There was a fight immediately.

Those with more strength snatched more, while those with less strength got only a small part.

But every face was filled with satisfaction.

They are very young, because of long-term starvation and malnutrition, they are yellow and emaciated, and their frail bodies are crumbling in the wind.

Wearing clothes full of holes, the group of beggars didn't pick up the bread and eat it after they got it. Instead, they raised their eyes lightly and quietly.

They didn't dare to look directly at Xu Mu before, and they didn't dare to look directly at Xu Mu. They just took a quick glance, then lowered their heads, knelt down and kowtowed towards Xu Mu.

Knock very loudly, and actually hit the ground.

After finishing all this, they held the bread in their arms and walked southward in a hurry.

Seeing them disappear from sight, Xu Mu slowly stood up.

"Young Master? Do you want Xianweiju to send you some food?" Wang Zhao said softly, seeing that Xu Mu was not used to eating at roadside stalls.

Xu Mu still looked at the south side of the White Horse Temple, waved his hands and said, "Go, let's follow and have a look."

Although he gave them ten catties of bread, Xu Mu still wanted to see where they lived.

What is it, let this group of children under the age of ten beg under the White Horse Temple.

And when he got the food, he didn't want to eat it, but held it in his arms and took it back.

……

When he really walked to the south of the White Horse Temple, Xu Mu looked at the refugee hut before him, and was speechless for a long time.

Especially when he came back with the beggars, he found that the beggars shouted "Master" ecstatically, and then went back to their respective homes.

It is said to be a home, but in fact it is just a simple temporary residence built with a wooden frame that cannot shelter from the wind or rain.

Not even thatch.

Afterwards, there was laughter from all the homes.

Most of these children who go out to beg have their parents sick in bed, and they take on the heavy responsibility of the family when they are young.

And the only thing they can do is go out and beg.

Seeing the well-dressed Xu Mu walking in, the refugees all looked at him strangely.

Complicated eyes, panic, fear, inferiority complex, hope...

Xu Mu walked around the refugee camp and found that there were about a thousand people in the refugee camp.

They all gather here spontaneously.

Because of the disaster, the Luoyang government also chose to turn a blind eye and not drive them away.

And after the disaster, there are usually many diseases, especially in winter and spring, most of these refugees are infected with various diseases.

Usually, in refugee camps, there is only one person who gets sick as a result.

This is a time when the poor and refugees dare not get sick.

"Old Yang, has this prosperous age ever fulfilled your wish?"

Xu Mu sighed in his heart, thinking of Yang Guang who was still in Wanmin City.

(End of this chapter)