After the Fairy Disappeared

  Chapter 184 Rich but not powerful

  The surname Ke really killed them.

   But everyone still has to follow, who knows if this is what the palace meant?

  Ke Jihai paused with a sad face, and clasped his fists to the guests from all directions: "Ke, on behalf of the frontline soldiers, thank you all for your generosity!"

   Once the hundreds of thousands of shi of food and military supplies are in place, the officers and soldiers can hold on for a while longer.

  Of course everyone was polite, but Ke Jihai said to the subordinates behind him in a blink of an eye: "Remember all the military rations donated by your lords! If you make a mistake, you are the only one to ask."

  The He family brothers looked at each other and saw the smile in each other's eyes. Ke Jihai was afraid that the aristocrats at the scene would talk nonsense, and turned around and refused to admit it, which shows his firm determination to ask for food.

  He Chunhua also opened his mouth: "Coinciding with the meeting, my He family also donated..."

At this point, Ke Jihai interrupted: "What kind of donation are you donating! When you go to Xiazhou, you have to recruit soldiers and buy horses. How can you have enough money in your pocket? Don't forget that there is still your old enemy in the north! I see, the people there Fighting is no easier than Wuzhou." No matter what he said, he refused to accept his gift of food.

  He Chunhua had no choice but to give up, and took his two sons back to sit down.

   Next, the host will try to smooth things over, and quickly get over this accident. The silk and bamboo music squeaked and Kabuki came on stage, quickly attracting everyone's attention.

  Worthy of being at the feet of the Son of Heaven, these kabukis are much more graceful than those in Heishui City, their singing voices are softer, and even their eyes are full of affection.

  He Lingchuan stared intently, but He Yue elbowed him: "Hey, look at General Ke."

  Ke Jihai had just drank a few cups of wine when a young man came from behind to greet him, and the two chatted.

  Although it is "chat", it is more like a teenager talking endlessly, while Ke Jihai listens with a glass of wine, and occasionally asks a few questions with a frown.

   After a cup of tea, Ke Jihai ordered someone to get a glass of wine for the boy.

  The boy choked after taking a sip and coughed for a long time.

   There are female relatives at the banquet, so the wine served is soft and sweet, and everyone can use it. But Ke Jihai was used to strong alcohol, so he asked the waiter to replace it long ago.

  Seeing the young man choking on alcohol, Ke Jihai smiled, and said a few words, which He Lingchuan recognized as "Wet smelly".

  A young man in his early twenties, with dark skin, a square face, and a thick face, but his eyes are round and bright. Unlike the banquet coat that was covered with silk, his robe was of good material, but it had been washed and faded. He Lingchuan also found an inconspicuous patch on his hem.

   This guy is completely out of tune with Lumingyuan.

   Then the boy handed Ke Jihai a booklet, saluted and got up to leave.

  Ke Jihai didn't open it to read it, and handed it to the subordinate officer behind him.

   Another half an hour later, he stood up and offered a toast to Zhu Xiyan, and then walked out.

   It looked like he was about to leave.

  He Lingchuan was once again convinced that the main reason for General Ke to come to the Luming Garden tonight was to pay the frontline officers and soldiers. Now that the goal has been achieved, it is time to slip away.

  At this moment, Mrs. Ying covered her stomach and whispered to her husband, "I have some abdominal pain."

   "Can I go to change clothes?"

   "No need, it's just a pain. It's been a while." Mrs. Ying was embarrassed, "It's probably because I'm not used to these delicacies."

   This feast is very much about the arrangement of food, flying in the sky, swimming in the water, running on the ground, all on the plate. But Ying Hongchan was used to the homely food in the borderlands, and now she tasted all kinds of flavors, and felt that she couldn't afford it.

   "You." He Chunhua had no choice but to stand up and bid farewell to Zhu's family, leaving first with his wife and children.

  Walking to the outside room, Assistant Liu was eating wine with two small dishes on his feet.

   Such a small person is of course not qualified to enter the banquet hall.

  Seeing He's family coming out, he said hello and hurried out to get a Roman car.

  The night was dark, most of the lights of Wanjia under the mountain had been extinguished, and snow fell in the air.

  The wheels creaked on the fresh snow.

  When He Lingchuan saw the scene below the mountain again, he stopped praising him. Instead, he remembered that although the night view of Shihuan City was beautiful, the surroundings of the city were pitch black, and the lights became sparser as he went outside.

  He asked Deputy Liu: "Aren't there many residents around Shihuan?"

   "There are many, why not many?" Assistant Liu replied, "Five counties and thirteen townships are either farming or living in Shihuan City."

  Shihuan City is such a prosperous place, and most of the residents in the surrounding counties and villages earn their living by serving it diligently.

   "Then why are the lights sparse?"

   "I'm busy with work during the day, but I don't have anything to do when I go home at night, so I can sleep without falling over?" Deputy Liu said with a smile, "Besides, candles are expensive, so what's the point of lighting?"

  He Lingchuan immediately remembered what Zhu Xiyan had just said.

  He Yue said in a low voice: "Compared to what we saw along the way, the life of the villagers around Shi Huan is much better. At least they have food and can survive."

  They came here from Heishui City, and they really saw how difficult people's livelihood is. He Yue has read ten thousand volumes of books in seven or eight years, but they are not as good as what he has seen and heard in the past twenty or thirty days, all kinds of incredible and shocking.

  This little boy finally understands what it means to say "the rise and fall are the suffering of the people".

  As soon as these words came out, even Deputy Liu couldn't hold back the smile on his face. He swallowed his saliva: "The royal court issued an order ten days ago and raised taxes again. This is the second time this year, so everything is expensive now."

  Lack of money, food, and wages must be demanded from the people.

   Suomin was too ruthless, and someone rose up again, and there was a second and a third Hong Xiangqian.

  This kind of topic can't be discussed anymore.

  After the wheels rolled up, He Lingchuan lifted the curtain and looked forward: "The carriage of General Ke is in front, not far from us."

  The snow seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

  He Yue said: "General Ke is here to collect the salary from the dignitaries in Shihuan City this time. Did Master Zhu know in advance, or did he cooperate temporarily?"

  He Lingchuan snorted: "The nobles in Shihuan City are so fat that they can donate tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of shi of grain without blinking an eye."

  He Chunhua nodded: "General Ke didn't ask for much food from the royal court. I think it's because someone gave him advice and asked him to find Shihuancheng to raise money."

  He Yue murmured: "Forcing the generals leading the troops on the front line to rush back to the capital to ask for their salary, it's a wonder in the world." There was inevitably some frustration in his words.

  He knew that the state affairs were corrupt, but he still felt bad after seeing it with his own eyes.

  He Lingchuan patted him on the head: "You boy, you are still too young."

  He Chunhua shook his head and said: "The payment is just an excuse. I think General Ke has another purpose in returning to the capital."

  He Yue's face changed color: "You, you mean he also has two..."

  Before the last word "heart" came out of his mouth, He Chunhua rebuked: "Nonsense!"

   "I suspect that he rushed back to intercede with Lord Fu Ju Fu."

   "Fu Ju..." He Lingchuan activated the ignorance skill, "Who is it?"

He Yue knew: "Master Fu, the regular servant of Sanqi, used to be a ranger general. I remember that he fought several battles in the south and west, and he was injured and sick, and he was old. Being an official in the court has no great promise."

  He Lingchuan: "They're all retired? What did this old man do that made General Ke rush back to intercede for him?"

  He Yue was also confused.

"It was only when I arrived in Shihuan that I heard that someone secretly reported that Fu Ju had a good relationship with the former chief minister Ma Donghaoming, and that he had a private relationship with Wuzhou." Heaps of intelligence and gossip.

  The brothers of the He family looked at each other in dismay, with a chill running down their backs.

   At this time, being accused of colluding with Dong Haoming, there is only one dead end.

   "Have you heard from the king?"

"If you don't believe me, why did General Ke come back in such a hurry? Fu Ju fought side by side with him on the battlefield before, and saved his life more than once. They have a very good relationship." He Chunhua looked at his two sons and sighed, "You know , although the officials of the Fu family are not big, their family background is extremely rich, and it can be ranked among the top six in the whole country."

"The Fu family was a famous general, and they made great achievements with Yuan Gaozu, and received a lot of rewards. Although his descendants are not good at martial arts, and they are not good at being officials, they are very good at business. They have engaged in more than a dozen businesses, and the family property has grown Bigger and bigger. When Fu Ju was a ranger general, he was not allowed to do business as an official, but he put his business in the name of his close relatives. I heard that nearly 30% of the medicine shops in the capital belonged to his family; the entire six streets in the west of the capital were also owned by Fu. The land of the family. Such a place where every inch of land is expensive, hey! Think about it, how rich is the Fu family?"

  He Lingchuan leaned on his head: "Can you be richer than the king?"

  He Chunhua smiled and said nothing.

   Whoever you are richer than anyone will be jealous; if you are richer than the king, then...

  He Yue's eyes flickered slightly, why did his father suddenly mention the Fu family's money?

He Chunhua said again: "The first emperor confiscated a large amount of property from the Fu family's children because they relied on the rich and were unkind and oppressed the common people. Everyone thought that the family's vitality was damaged, but they didn't expect that it would recover within a few years. , but keep a low profile from now on.”

  He Yue tilted his head: "With the astonishing wealth of the Fu family, can we support a war until we win Dong Haoming?"

  He Chunhua said softly: "I don't know."

   This is his mantra, and both brothers know that the next sentence is "why give it a try"?

   Assistant Liu was still sitting in the car, so I couldn't speak clearly, but both brothers understood.

  The Fu family is too rich, but they failed to produce powerful ministers in the court, but the country is fighting and short of money, so...

  So whether or not Fu Ju colluded with rebellion, the fact itself is not very important. The Fu family thought that keeping a low profile could avoid disasters, but unfortunately, the crime of Huai Bi is an undeniable truth through the ages.

  He Lingchuan said with a smile: "Isn't there an old saying in our Qiansong County: Wealthy but not powerful, we should be kept as fat pigs."

  So what if he is extremely rich, when the power sharpens his sword, why don't he obediently lead his neck to be killed?

He Chunhua said in a low voice: "Da Sima can't escape and return to Wuzhou after killing the king. He is at ease, but there are not many officials and merchants implicated in the court. It is said that the guillotine at the entrance of the vegetable market is said to be blunt, and the confiscated property has been lost for a while. The local storage is piled up in several large warehouses behind the Peace Temple, and it took about two months to finish processing."

  (end of this chapter)