Aspirations

Chapter 148 All are chess pieces
"Since the iron ore business is so troublesome, why does sister Lian bother?" Cao Shuli snuggled up to Lian Ruohan's side, with a hint of curiosity in her lovely expression, just like Lian Ruohan's younger sister.

"That's right, why does Lady Lian still want to intervene?" Xia Xiang followed Cao Shuli's words and said with a pleasant smile, "It can be seen that Lady Lian must have plans."

Lian Ruohan sighed faintly: "Sister Cao has not married Xia Xianzun yet, so she thinks about him in every way, be careful to spoil him, and he will treat you badly in the future."

Cao Shuli looked at Xia Xiang with great admiration: "If you really marry Xia Langjun, you will naturally listen to him in everything. Not to mention that as a woman, you must obey the three rules and four virtues, but only say that Xia Langjun's intelligence and vision, even my father also praises him." Don’t stop talking, not to mention I’m a little girl?”

Xia Xiang straightened his chest, with a smug expression on his face.Lian Ruohan coughed, and his face turned slightly cold: "Hmph, if it were me, I wouldn't listen to his orders in everything. Why? According to the laws of Daxia, a woman can reconcile if she is dissatisfied with her husband."

"It's far away, it's far away. If you want to talk about your family affairs, it's not too late to talk about it when you get home. Let's talk about the business first, and the business first!" Zheng Hao urged impatiently, "Mrs. Mining business, or just to embarrass Guangjin Trading Company?"

Lian Ruohan smiled lightly: "What does Zheng Tong think?"

Zheng Hao was taken aback for a moment: "I'm not a businessman, how could I know your thoughts? Mr. Xia, you must have guessed what Lian Niangzi's intentions are, tell me quickly."

Xia Xiang smiled slightly at Lian Ruohan: "With Mrs. Lian's ability, if you really only want to run the iron ore business, you don't have to stop the suppliers of Guangjin Trading Company. It's not a scarce commodity. Iron ore is produced in Mongolia, Taiyuan, Yanshan, and Taihang Mountains. It's a trivial matter to find where to buy iron ore even if a lady has all eyes and hands. Then the problem comes, and the source of goods from Guangjin Trading Company is deliberately intercepted. , there are only two possibilities, one is that Lady Lian wants to kill the iron ore business of Guangjin Trading Company, and the other is that Lady Lian wants to kill the entire Guangjin Trading Company, which one is it, Lady Lian?"

Lian Ruohan's heart jumped, but he still asked without changing his face: "Guangjin Commercial Bank is just one of the thousands of commercial firms in Daxia, and it is not a first-class commercial firm. In terms of scale, I am afraid it is bigger than that. It’s not much better to have a firm, why should I kill a firm that is far from good times? Wouldn’t it be superfluous?”

Seeing that Lian Ruohan still refused to tell the truth, Xia Xiang secretly smiled in his heart, but still said lightly: "You can't say that, Lian Niangzi cares about the world and doesn't want to see people in ruins, so I can't tolerate Guangjinshang's behavior and stop Guangjin. The supply of iron ore to the trading company is tantamount to cutting off the channel for Guangjin Trading Company to smelt iron and make weapons..."

Zheng Hao's expression changed: "Guangjin Trading Company wants to make weapons? Could it be that they want to rebel?"

Even Ruohan pretended to be stupid: "I don't understand Xia Xianzun's words."

"Haha, don't tell lies in front of the real person, even if the lady is a real official, you don't understand anything, or do you think I'm just a nerd?" Xia Xiang laughed, he knew very well that Lian Ruohan alone could support him. It is impossible for Hao Jingchang to have such a huge industry. Behind her, there must be unfathomable and mysterious figures who advise her. It will also have an impact that cannot be underestimated on the situation in Daxia. What's more, the good times have never been involved in the iron ore business in the past. This time, he suddenly intervened in the iron ore business, and he was actually pointing at Guangjin Trading Company. He was surprised and immediately speculated There must be a major hidden secret in it.

Lian Ruohan turned around to look at Cao Shujun and the others, and saw that they were several feet away, concentrating on counting, and couldn't care about or hear what they were talking about, so she felt relieved and walked a few steps forward , stood still, turned around and said: "Since Xia Xianzun really wants to know the truth, I will not hide it anymore. Anyway, His Highness Xingwang's thoughts are already known by Sima Zhaozhi."

Lu Zhiyue also wanted to follow, but was blocked by Mantuo.Man Tuo didn't speak, and shielded Lu Zhiyue with his sword in both hands. Lu Zhiyue was stunned for a moment, shook his head and sighed, turned and walked away.

Zheng Haocai ignored Lu Zhiyue, and he followed closely behind Xia Xiang, with a puzzled look on his face: "His Royal Highness Xingwang wants to succeed to the throne, everyone knows it, but what does His Royal Highness Xingwang have to do with Guangjin Commercial Bank and iron mines if he wants to be emperor?" ?”

Xia Xiang knew that Zheng Hao only knew one thing about the situation in North Korea and China, and he didn't know anything about the seemingly calm but turbulent situation in Zhending. It was time to let Zheng Hao know something, otherwise if he was caught It is not impossible for Cui Xiang, Gao Jianyuan and others to take advantage of it and fall headlong into the river.

Xia Xiang jumped forward, jumped over a stream about three feet wide, and came to the open space in the wasteland.The rest of the people jumped over the stream one after another, Lian Ruohan jumped over with her skirt in hand, not to mention Zheng Hao.Only Cao Shuli hesitated for a moment, and looked at Xia Xiang for help. Before Xia Xiang had time to lend a helping hand, Man Tuo reached out to grab Cao Shuli's arm and led her across the creek.

They were farther away from Li Chi, Zheng Mingrui and Cao Shujun.

"That's right, that's right, what does His Royal Highness Xingwang have to do with Guangjin Commercial Bank and Iron Mine if he wants to become emperor?" The reason why Lian Ruohan has been reluctant to tell the truth is because he wants to test Xia Xiang and know Xia Xiang's identity. Can Xiang see the current situation clearly?Xia Xiang first entered the officialdom, and was far away from the capital. She was really determined and was trapped in many affairs, which made her slightly worried whether Xia Xiang would lose his way because of this.

Xia Xiang squinted his eyes and looked up at the sky. The sky was as blue as washing, and there were a few white clouds floating in it, like pure white flowers, which made people feel refreshed.A group of wild geese flew by in the air, making bursts of chirping.

Everyone was silent. After waiting for a while, Xia Xiang withdrew his gaze and smiled calmly: "His Royal Highness Xingwang has lofty aspirations. Although he has lofty aspirations, he must implement them. If he wants to succeed to the throne, there are three ways to do it. First, the emperor died of a serious illness, and it was passed on to Xingwang. This is the best choice, and there is no bloodshed, and the transition is smooth. Second, the emperor recovered from illness, and His Royal Highness Xingwang forced the emperor to abdicate. Can enjoy the whole life. This is the middle policy, only the emperor suffers and suffers, so that the people of the world will not be affected. Third, the emperor recovers from illness, and His Royal Highness Xingwang forces the emperor to abdicate and fails, so a mutiny is launched. This is the worst policy, and the world will change drastically. , no matter who wins in the end, at least 10,000+ people will die and tens of thousands will be displaced..."

"His Royal Highness Xingwang will not launch a mutiny for the throne?" Zheng Hao shook his head, not agreeing with Xia Xiang's deduction, "Xingwang is a prince, one of the five one-word kings in Daxia, even if he is not the emperor Besides, Mr. Hou obeyed His Royal Highness Xing Wang's words. It's not that the emperor is better than the emperor. Why did His Royal Highness Xing Wang risk the world's disgrace and start a mutiny? How easy it is to be a Taiping Prince. "

"Zheng Tongpan's words are not unreasonable, but..." Cao Shuli looked innocent, "Zheng Tongpan is not His Royal Highness Xingwang, how could he know that His Royal Highness Xingwang does not want to be emperor? Zi Feiyu, An Zhiyu's joy ?”

Zheng Hao immediately retorted: "You are not me, how do you know that I don't know the joy of fish?"

Xia Xiang also laughed loudly: "Both of you are not His Royal Highness Xing Wang. An Zhi His Royal Highness Xing Wang has no ambition to aspire to the throne? Although His Royal Highness Xing Wang is a prince, he is not willing to be only a prince. The prince and the emperor, although one is a thousand years old One is Long Live, but there is still a world of difference. Just like Zheng Tongpan and Cui Fuzun, although Tongpan is Fuzun's assistant officer, they are far behind."

Zheng Hao wanted to refute a few more words, thought about it, and then swallowed it back, the issue he is most concerned about now is the matter of iron mines: "Well, for the time being, His Royal Highness Xingwang wants to make a mutiny, and he and Iron Mine What does the mine have to do with it?"

"If my guess is correct, Liu Changting and Xie Huagai are the pawns that His Royal Highness Xingwang placed in Zhending." Xia Xiang narrowed his eyes slightly again, and looked at the shop of Guangjin Trading Company in the distance, "Guangjin Trading Company On the surface it is Zhending Xu Heguang's firm, but secretly it is probably Liu Xie's firm. Guangjin firm operates legitimate businesses, restaurants, inns, teahouses, shops, etc., but behind the scenes it is possible to deal with Iron ore, horses and leather business."

Xia Xiang hadn't suspected the true identities and goals of Guangjin Commercial Bank and Liu Xie before, but after meeting Tian Manchu, he felt even more that Fu Ke's case would lead to a shocking case.After Cao Shujun pretended to be a ghost and made Fu Ke tell the truth, he became more aware of the amazing secrets and unknown layout behind Dong Da's forced jump into the river.

Hearing that Lian Ruohan brazenly intercepted the supply of iron ore from Guangjin Trading Company, Xia Xiang could no longer figure out what Guangjin Trading Company was planning behind the scenes, he was too dereliction of duty and too slow.

"Except for the 20 Imperial Army in the capital, the rest of the Great Xia Imperial Army are scattered in various places. The strongest imperial army is the capital city, and the Zhending Mansion is the second. Among the imperial imperial army, the most powerful is the ten thousand soldiers of the capital guarding the capital. The leader of the Wanjun Army is Ye Shisheng, whom the emperor trusts the most. Ye Dianshuai is the most loyal to the emperor, and it is absolutely impossible for His Royal Highness Xingwang to instigate rebellion." Xia Xiang continued to talk about the situation in Beijing. First, he heard too much from Li Dingshan. First, and second, during the period in the capital, I had been influenced a lot by my ears and eyes. After I came to Zhending as an official, I carefully speculated and analyzed the entire situation of the ruling and opposition parties, so that I knew it well.

"So, if His Royal Highness Xingwang really wants to rebel, it is the best strategy to send troops to Beijing from Zhending." Xia Xiang looked around at several people, Lian Ruohan looked calm, Cao Shuli looked shocked, Man Tuo remained indifferent, Zheng Hao was stunned, and he smiled lightly, "Originally, I didn't believe that His Royal Highness Xingwang would rebel, but when I found out that Dong Da's murder was actually involving Wu Yidong, the commander of the Imperial Guard, I had no choice but to Guessed an unacceptable truth—His Royal Highness Xingwang is playing a big chess game in Zhending, Dong Da is just a small pawn, besides Dong Da, there are still horses and horses in Zhending. If Liu Changting He and Xie Huagai are chariots and horses, so Wu Yidong is a cannon."

Zheng Hao wanted to say something, but Xia Xiang stopped him with his hand, and Xia Xiang continued: "Zheng Tong, please listen to me first—Wu Yidong not only bought [-] shi of grain from Dong Da, but also secretly recruited troops, and added Shangliu and Xie are in the business of horses, leather, and iron ore. They have food, people, horses, and leather to make armor and bows and arrows, and iron ore to refine weapons. Zheng Tongpan, you think Wu Yidong wants to rebel? Is it impossible to dredge the Hutuo River for the people of Zhending? I will ask you again, Zheng Tongjue, Wu Yidong wants to rebel, is he going to rebel himself, or is he planning a rebellion for someone?"

Zheng Hao remained silent, lowered his head for a long while, then suddenly raised his head, and said impassionedly: "In this case, why didn't Xia Xianzun report to the emperor that His Royal Highness Xingwang wanted to rebel? If Xia Xianzun is timid and unwilling to offend His Highness Xingwang, This official is willing to risk his life to write a letter!"

"Are you trying to kill Lord Xia?" Lian Ruohan rolled Zheng Hao's eyes reproachfully, "His Royal Highness Xingwang wants to rebel, and the whole court knows, who dares to speak to the emperor? Even if you risk your life The letter was written, the emperor also believed in this matter, how can the emperor take His Royal Highness Xingwang? Zheng Tongpan, the current matter can only be planned slowly, not rashly."

Zheng Hao was stunned for a moment, then let out a long sigh: "The treacherous minister is in power, and the villain is in power, so we can only hold our hands and sigh?"

"Of course not." Xia Xiang laughed out loud, "No matter how arrogant His Royal Highness Xingwang is, he would not dare to rebel at this time, and wait for the best opportunity. The emperor should also know about Xingwang's wolfish ambitions, but the power is left behind. Hou Pingpan is also in power, and there is nothing to do with Xingwang and Hou Pingpan for the time being. Even the emperor probably didn't want to come for the southern tour, but he still had to agree to go south. As subjects, we should share the worries of the emperor and seek advice for the people. Fu, since His Royal Highness Xingwang wants to treat Zhending as a chessboard, and we are all pawns, just let the horses come over, the pawns who cross the river, only advance and never retreat, maybe they can win a general."

"How can I share my worries for the emperor?" Zheng Hao was gearing up, with an eager look on his face, "Although Zheng is not talented, he still has the ambition to serve the country, and he doesn't want to join forces with Cui Xiang, Wu Yidong and others."

Xia Xiang nodded: "It is my duty to share the worries of the emperor. You and I are officials in the same dynasty, one is the general judge of Zhending Prefecture, and the other is the magistrate of Zhending County. If we can join hands, we can ensure the safety of the people." .Lien Niangzi is always in charge, and she can benefit the people of Zhending.”

"So, if we join forces, we can fight against Cui Xiang and Wu Yidong?" Zheng Hao clapped his hands and applauded, "Okay, that's great. But Xia Xianzun still didn't tell the official that even the lady stopped Guangjin Trading Company What is the purpose of the iron mine?"

"Stupid." Man Tuo couldn't bear it anymore, and gave Zheng Hao a big contemptuous look, "Without the iron ore supply of Guangjin Trading Company, it will be difficult for Guangjin Trading Company to continue to build weapons."

"So that's how it is." Zheng Hao slapped his head suddenly, not at all angry at Mantuo's disrespectful tone, "But if Lian Niangzi really stopped the source of iron ore in order to prevent Guangjin Trading Company from continuing to build weapons, Lian Niangzi was He is really a great businessman for the country and the people. Please accept Zheng's gift!"

(End of this chapter)