Reborn as Murong Fu: This time I am the protagonist

Murong Fu had been waiting for Li Yuansheng to attack him since Li Yuan Sheng appeared on the scene: The so-called clay man still has a third degree of earthiness, and he hurt his son in public, let alone a prince of a country, even an ordinary common man in Han Dynasty must find ways to do it. Take revenge? This opportunity is pretty good right now. Murong Fu's mind was already racing. How should he deal with a direct conflict later?

However, until the middle of the banquet, Li Yuan Sheng did not mention this matter. Even when Murong Fu turned his eyes to him, Li Yuan Sheng smiled and nodded at him. Murong Fu tried to read a hint of a smile hidden in his eyes, but no matter how he looked, he couldn't see even a trace of hostility. After practicing martial arts to Murong Fu's current level, his perception has greatly exceeded that of ordinary people. Any negative emotions such as murderous intent or hostility on the other side cannot escape Murong Fu's perception.

Is it possible that the opponent's Qi nourishing skills are so good that even I can't see through them?

Thinking of this, Murong Fu couldn't help but tremble in his heart. If that were the case, even if the other party did not reach the level of the nameless monk who swept the floor in the Shaolin Temple, he would not be far behind.

Taoism emphasizes the harmony of light and dust, while Buddhism emphasizes that all dharmas are empty. Buddhism and Taoist martial arts have the same goal in some respects in terms of understanding of mind nature and realm. Just imagine, if the sweeping monk really looked like an outsider, he could sweep the floor quietly for decades under the eyes of a group of top masters in Shaolin? Absolutely not. When one reaches the highest state of martial arts training, he is in such a state of hiding in the city and being in harmony with the light.

This Li Yuan Sheng is really a bit evil, Murong Fu thought to himself.

On the other hand, Hu Yanlei, who was sitting next to Murong Fu, was very enthusiastic and kept chatting with Murong Fu, introducing him to some important people at the banquet.

"Brother Li, you haven't been in Daxia for a long time before, and you haven't attended any big gatherings. Although our Yipintang is not subject to the control of the imperial court, it is still necessary to know some important people in Daxia!"

Hu Yanlei took a big sip of wine and glanced at the seats opposite him from the corner of his eye. The smell of alcohol in his mouth spurted out from time to time as he spoke.

Murong Fu had no ill feelings toward this northwestern man with a bold personality and a fondness for drinking. His temperament was somewhat similar to Xiao Feng's.

Then Murong Fu smiled and said, "Then please give me some advice from Brother Huyan."

"Hahaha, easy to talk about!"

Hu Yanlei laughed loudly and acted as if no one was around. However, everyone was drinking and having fun at this time, so Hu Yanlei's behavior was not noticeable.

Then Hu Yanlei pursed his lips toward the seat opposite and said, "That man's name is Zhang Cheng, and he is currently the Salt and Iron Envoy of Daxia."

Murong Fu followed Hu Yanlei's gaze and saw that the man looked about thirty years old. There was nothing outstanding about his appearance, but his bun was made according to the Chinese style.

At the beginning of the founding of Xixia, Li Yuanhao issued a strict "bald hair order" in order to culturally separate himself from the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains, stipulating that domestic men, regardless of age or tribe, must change their hairstyle within three days. If they adopt the traditional baldness styles prescribed by Li Yuanhao, otherwise they will be beheaded. The trick of "leaving the hair but not the head" played by the boar skin in later generations is just a trick of picking people's teeth.

However, with the death of Li Yuanhao, this "bald hair order" has gradually been abolished over the past few decades. The reason is also very simple. As a tribe that has lived in the Han region for a long time, the Dangxiang tribe itself has been assimilated by the Han people during hundreds of years of life in the Han region. Except for its strong military strength, the entire country of Xixia was lagging behind in other aspects. Rejecting Chineseization meant giving up the progress of the entire country.

Murong Fu's face condensed slightly: "My surname is Zhang?"

"What is the relationship between this man and Zhang Yuan?"

Murong Fu asked tentatively?

Hu Yanlei was slightly shocked: "Brother Li also knows about Zhang Yuan?"

Murong Fu's stiff face moved slightly: "In the Battle of Sanchuankou, 20,000 soldiers of the Song army fell into the sand and buried their bones in the barren hills. I am afraid that no one in the world knows about such achievements. I just didn't expect such a person. The descendant of the legendary military advisor actually gave up the military service and became a salt and iron envoy."

A complex look flashed across Hu Yanlei's face: "Yes, Zhang Cheng's ancestor is the famous Zhang Yuan in the past. He once assisted Emperor Wu Lie to defeat the Song army and laid the foundation of Daxia. Although Zhang Yuan himself retired after that , but his descendants have been active in the military and political circles of Daxia. Zhang Chenglai's ancestral legacy, as the head of the Zhang family of this generation, became an official in Daxia, and he became the salt and iron envoy of Daxia in his thirties, which can be said to be a high-power position ,young and promising."

After saying that, Hu Yanlei looked around, thought for a while and said to Murong Fu: "To be honest, brother Li, if brothers want to make some extra money to supplement their family income, it depends on the face of this salt and iron envoy. This man is very popular in the country. The real power of Xia is no less than that of the prime minister! If brothers want to make a little fortune between Song and Xia in the future, this salt and iron envoy must not offend him."

Although Xixia is a small country with few people, the military and political teams from the central to the local governments are not lacking in everything. To be precise, they copied the civil and military team system of the Song Dynasty. The Zhongshu, the Privy Council, and the Third Bureau constituted the highest organs of Xixia's political, military, and financial departments. The salt and iron envoy made in this piece is the subordinate officer of the third division.

Hu Yanlei's words are absolutely correct: Xixia is barren, and they have been fighting against the Song Dynasty for many years, so they are short of money. To put it bluntly, the civil and military officials of Xixia could not be greedy even if they wanted to. If you want to get some more income besides salary, you can only turn your attention to the Song Dynasty in the south.

If it was Daliao, the method would be very simple and crude, just "grab the grass and valley" and rob it. However, Xixia was sandwiched between Daliao and Song Dynasty. It was already difficult for Xixia to survive. Following Daliao's example and provoking rashly was no different from seeking death. What's more, the Western Army of Song Dynasty was not a vegetarian!

So after experiencing several setbacks, the warring factions in the Xixia court who shouted to fight and kill lost their voices. Over time, smuggling activities on the Song-Xia border became rampant.

Although Xixia is small, its products are not scarce. There are at least two things that the Song Dynasty needs. One is the high-quality pig iron traded by Murong Fu and Helian Tieshu, and the other is the cheap and high-quality green salt produced in the Great Salt Lake of Xixia.

When a certain God of War of the Gaoliang River was in power, he once thought of conquering the northwest with a border blockade, strictly prohibiting the entry of green salt from Xixia, and killing private salt dealers once discovered.

This was done for several years, and the effect was very significant - a large number of people in the northwest border of the Song Dynasty were forced to flee to Xixia by low-quality, high-priced salt and heavy military expenditures.

In this way, it is not an exaggeration to say that the real power of this salt and iron envoy is as powerful as the prime minister in Hu Yanlei's mouth.