Tibet

Chapter 438 Five Powers
At noon, Li Ye returned home, only to find that his father was receiving guests.

This is also normal, it's a day off!Officials would go out of their way to visit their superiors, not to mention that his father was the dignified minister of the Ministry of Rites and held the power of the Ministry of Rites, so of course there would be officials to curry favor with him.

Li Ye went directly to the back house, only to find his mother packing her bags. Li Ye was startled, "Mom, who wants to go out?"

"Your father! He's going to Chen Cang again, hey! He's already gone several times."

"What is father going to Chencang County for?"

Li Ye was a little puzzled, what did the Minister of Rites go to the small county town for?
"I don't know. It seems to be looking for a subordinate. I heard that a subordinate had an accident. He is in his hometown of Chencang County. Last time, your father was afraid that he would commit suicide and ran to appease him."

At this time, Li Dai came over in a hurry, "Lady, are you packed, I'm leaving!"

"Father, what's wrong?"

Li Dai smiled wryly and said, "I still told you about the imperial examination yesterday. It's more troublesome if someone keeps staring at it."

"Yang Guozhong?"

Li Dai shook his head, "It's not Yang Guozhong. Yang Guozhong's mind is on Nanzhao's side. He doesn't care about the imperial examination. It's the Zhang brothers, a prime minister Zhang Jun, and a Taichang Qing Zhang Yi. Hey! It's a long story. Tell you in detail."

"Father, do you want me to go with you?"

"No need, you are busy with your own affairs, Dad can take care of it."

Li Dai took the luggage, got into the carriage with two officials and left.
Li Ye watched his father walk away, feeling a little worried in his heart. He faintly felt that Zhang Jun should be using the imperial examination as a starting point to attack his father.

Mrs. Guo Guo just guaranteed that the Yang family would not move her father, and she didn't care about others.

After lunch, Li Ye came to Dongshi Zhenwei Martial Arts Hall. Unexpectedly, Zhang Ping was no longer in the martial arts hall. According to the wishes of the martial arts hall members, Zhang Ping was promoted.

After finding out Zhang Ping's new address, Li Ye went to Baoji Trading Company, which was also located in Dongshi.

From a long distance, I saw a tall and fat man wearing a gauze hat and a robe saying goodbye to the guests, looking quite polite.

Li Ye couldn't believe his eyes, that person was his childhood friend Zhang Ping.

"Fatty!"

Li Ye waved to him from a distance.

The tall fat man was Zhang Ping. He heard a familiar voice, looked around, and saw Li Ye at a glance.

He was overjoyed immediately, and hurried forward, Li Ye got off his horse, and the two hugged tightly, Li Ye punched him on the generous shoulder, and said with a smile, "Are you admitted to fame?"

Zhang Ping chuckled, "I can write the entire Analects silently now, how about it?"

"Not bad! Not bad! Your wife is a good teacher, so she's not in the martial arts school anymore?"

"I'm still in charge of the martial arts hall, but I don't care about the specifics. I'll leave it to Wu Changxing. He is worthy of living in the Yellow River. He dares to fight and fights. He is not afraid of death. Everyone is more afraid of him. He is nicknamed Heilang."

"You're not called Wujilang anymore?" Li Ye said with a smile.

"That was my childhood nickname. I can't be called Wujilang now. By the way, when did the eldest brother come back?"

"Just arrived yesterday, let's go! Let's go have a drink."

Zhang Ping pointed to the restaurant opposite and said with a smile: "I own the restaurant opposite, and the shopkeeper is my brother."

The two walked towards the restaurant. There was a big sign on the restaurant, 'Xiao Zhang Baiwei Restaurant'.

Li Ye recognized that the words on the signboard seemed to be written by his father.

"This word looks like it was written by my father?" Li Ye asked with a smile.

Zhang Ping nodded, "It's my uncle who wrote it, and he also named it. It's not vulgar, but also approachable. Everyone praises this name."

"How is business?" Li Ye asked again.

Seeing that there was no one around, Zhang Ping lowered his voice and said, "When the business is at its best, it makes a net profit of [-] guan every day, and at its worst, it makes a bottom of [-] guan."

"not bad!"

Li Ye was amazed that the Anranju Restaurant in Pingkangfang was nothing more than that.

Zhang Ping blushed, and said with some embarrassment: "It's also thanks to you for teaching me those few dishes. Although others have learned it, they can't cook that taste. Only Xiaozhang Restaurant is the most authentic, which is recognized by everyone. Go to the Baihualu sake of the Wang family, and the business will naturally be good."

"Could it be that you are still in charge here?"

Zhang Ping shook his head, "My brother is in charge. I taught him everything. He worked hard and did better than me."

The two walked into the restaurant, it was almost noon, but there were still quite a few drinkers in the restaurant, and they seemed to be businessmen talking about business.

The two went up to the second floor and found a seat by the window. Zhang Ping called the bartender and ordered two jugs of sake and some side dishes.

Zhang Ping smiled and said: "I haven't told my brother yet, I'm a father!"

"Congratulations! Congratulations! Is it a son or a daughter?"

"It's a son. My father named him Zhang Qin. There is a river in my hometown called Qinhe. My father told him not to forget his original meaning!"

Li Ye took out a small leather pouch from his bosom, took out a top-grade ruby ​​the size of a sparrow egg from inside, and handed it to Zhang Ping, "It's my heart to give this to your son!"

"Good! Thank you."

Zhang Ping was not polite, he accepted it, and asked with a smile, "I heard from my aunt that you are getting married in mid-August, right?"

Li Ye nodded, "I'll give you an invitation when the time comes!"

"I must go!"

Zhang Ping smiled and said: "I listened to your advice, read and write, and finished the elementary school courses in one year. My adoptive father was very happy and let me take over his business, and he retired behind the scenes."

"It means that you have become the chief executive of the firm?"

Zhang Ping shook his head, "There is a big manager below, and my adoptive father gave me [-]% of the share to take care of various businesses for him. To be precise, I just do what his son should do."

"And his own son?"

"The adoptive father has two sons. The eldest son is a fool. When he was 16 years old, he was beaten on the head with a club. He has become a fool since then. Now he is 30 years old, and his brain is still the same as that of a three-year-old. Unable to marry and have children.

My younger son is the same age as me, but I don’t know where he is?He was hidden by his adoptive father, and so was the youngest son of the Patriarch. Since his second son was killed by An Lushan, the Patriarch has also hidden his youngest son. I only know that he is hiding in the Jiangnan area.

Now the head of the family only manages Baoji and Wude Restaurant, and all the trade is distributed to other brothers in the family. My adoptive father makes medicinal materials, grain, oil and tea. Currently, he is the second largest medicinal material merchant and the second largest oil merchant in Chang’an. The third largest grain merchant and the largest tea merchant were both entrusted to me to manage, and the martial arts hall was also entrusted to me. "

Li Ye's first reaction was white gloves, and Zhang Ping gradually became Wang Xuanhai's white gloves. These wealthy people were very keen, and they sensed the changes in the current situation, and began to retreat behind the scenes, pushing people they trusted to the front.

Li Ye pondered for a while and asked, "How many people are there in your martial arts hall?"

"There are more than [-] ordinary students"

Zhang Ping looked at both sides, and said in a low voice: "In the name of students and instructors, there are more than [-] warriors who are actually raised. These people are under my command. I will lead them as a black whale. Wu Changxing It's my deputy."

Li Ye nodded, "It's more meaningful for you to stay in Chang'an than to go to Suiye!"

Zhang Ping pressed his head in pain and said, "I'm also afraid of staying in Chang'an! My father-in-law retreated behind the scenes and handed over the burden to me, and I felt the tremendous pressure. How many powerful people are staring at us like a tiger, we are like A group of fat sheep will be torn apart by tigers and wolves at any time."

"Don't you also have a backstage? King Si Ning."

Zhang Ping shook his head, "King Si Ning only has some influence. The five major powers in Chang'an can't turn to him at all. If the Yang family wants to attack us, he can't protect us at all."

"Which five major forces in Chang'an?" Li Ye asked.

"The first power is the power of the Son of Heaven, represented by Gao Lishi, who stands high above and overlooks all living beings; the second power is the power of the Yang family, which is actually a part of the power of the Son of Heaven; the third power is the power of Guan Long, who is your future father-in-law. The Dugu family, the Yuan family, the Changsun family, the Dou family, etc.; the fourth largest force is the Prince's faction, and your father is the recognized Prince's faction; the fifth largest force is the Anlushan faction."

"An Lushan forces?"

Li Ye was startled, "Is An Lushan very powerful in Chang'an?"

Zhang Ping smiled wryly and said: "I just listened to what my foster father said, and I don't know exactly what's going on."

Li Ye smiled and said, "Actually, there is a sixth power!"

(End of this chapter)