Drunk Qingqiu

"Jiu Ye, there are too many people bidding, how do these twenty merchants choose?"

After hearing Li Xijing's words, Yinzhen raised her eyebrows, not knowing whether to be happy or worried.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs' business route to Oros is from Zhangjiakou to the border of Oros through Mongolia.Most of the imperial merchants who went to trade complained that the road was difficult and the profits were small, and the annual handover was only about 10 taels.

This time, Yinzhen learned about the price situation from the Eros mission, and proposed to limit the number of merchants who operate the Eros trade road to 15 merchants, and pay 5 taels of silver every three years as the minimum limit.Open bidding for merchants. When bidding, one-third of the silver must be paid in advance, that is, at least [-] taels.

At the moment, many clans have let out rumors that they will never pay more money.Shen Da, the steward of Chengjun Prince's Mansion, said to the crowd: "Jiuye can't just be greedy for merit, he should think about it for the people below. What's wrong with letting people pass? The big deal is that this year the Ministry of Internal Affairs canceled the Eros Business Road. "

Yang Zhong, the second steward of Chengjun Palace, frowned, looked at him from the side, but didn't say anything.

The other clans thought they had won an idea, and when they went back, their backs straightened up again.What are you afraid of, the sky is falling and there is a big head on top of it, the prince with the iron hat will take the lead, even if Brother Nine is in charge of the House of Internal Affairs, I am afraid that he will not be able to hold these powerful palaces.

Gao Wen wandered around Sijiu City and came back to tell Yinzhen the rumors truthfully.

Although Yinzhen didn't change his decision, he still murmured in his heart that if the imperial merchants felt that the gap with previous years was too big and the conditions were too harsh, it was possible to unite and fight against him, and quit them all.

But, really no one wants to come?Yinzhen sneered, he didn't know how many imperial merchants in the past relied on their connections to gain access to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but the temptation of real money, there will be no one to come.Although the status of merchants is not high, most of the money in the world is in their hands, and the 5 taels of silver can still be taken out by someone.

He had planned a long time ago, even if there were only a dozen or so people to make up, it was enough for the first time.

Thinking of Chengjun's palace, Xibao's face that seems to be smiling but not smiling seems to be in front of him, Yinzhen can't help feeling dizzy.However, he hasn't been so ignorant of the world that he offended all the rich and powerful.A few princes with iron hats had to take care of them in secret. As for those clan relatives who were waiting to watch, ministers or those who were waiting to see their excitement, they could just give up, just in time for some new blood to come in for the House of Internal Affairs.

In addition, Yinzhen also has her own small plan, planning to take out the surplus of several shops in the past few years, and also bid for the Eros business road.Moreover, goods such as satin, medicinal materials, and porcelain are readily available, and they are much cheaper than others.

At the end of the year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs released the news of the bidding, explaining the requirements and the minimum limit, and all capable businesses can come to bid.Years passed in a blink of an eye, January 28, the day of public bidding.

"Master Jiu, there are hundreds of businesses outside here, look..."

Li Xijing had no choice but to come in and report the situation to Yinzhen, letting him make up his mind.Yinzhen was stunned, heaved a sigh of relief involuntarily, thought for a while and ordered: "Reserve three quotas, as long as the three companies reach 15 yuan, I will give them; the rest of the merchants, the highest bidder will get it."

Li Xijing nodded, he was really worried for Yinzhen, now that there are more people, his face is also full of joy.When he was about to leave, Li Xijing hesitated again. If he read correctly, there was a young man in white among the people who came to bid.He was personally sent in by He Yuzhu, the personal eunuch of Brother Jiu... Is this taking care of or not?

Li Xijing went out the door, and He Yuzhu entered the room with a person.

"Master, this is Xiaoqiu who is following Mr. Su." He Yuzhu said, behind him was a boy dressed as a servant, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with downcast eyes, quiet and cautious.

Yinzhen heard Su Yang mention that he has a deputy by his side, and he intends to train someone who can help run the shop.This Xiaoqiu was brought back when Su Yang went south, and has been following him, diligent and careful in doing things, except for Su Yang, he is indifferent to others.

Xiaoqiu took a step forward, saluted respectfully, and said to Yinzhen: "Master, sir asked me to tell you, I am afraid that the money you prepared is not enough, and now the reserve price has risen to 19." Su Yang and Yinzhen We discussed it in advance and brought 20.

Yinzhen couldn't help feeling a headache again, because where the benefit lies, everyone tends to it.Although those imperial merchants and clans who refused to pay more money were dumbfounded, Yinzhen also created a problem for himself.

"Go back and tell Su Yang, 25, let's forget about it." Yinzhen rubbed his brows and ordered.He naturally hoped that Su Yang could bid successfully, but 30 is probably the limit.If you draw cash out again, I'm afraid it will be difficult for the other shops to maintain.

"Yes." Xiaoqiu paused for a moment, and then she answered quickly, seeing that Yinzhen had no other orders, she backed out.

Although He Yuzhu didn't understand these things, he knew that his master was in a difficult situation, so he wondered from the side: "Master, you are not in charge of the House of Internal Affairs? Why don't you—"

Yinzhen knew what He Yuzhu was going to say, and shook his head directly: "No, at least you can't use power for personal gain now. I have offended too many people this time, and countless eyes are watching my every move. Only fair bidding can make them speechless Come on. Forget it, if it’s really not enough, vote elsewhere. There are many ways to make money.”

Having said that, Yinzhen still felt a little pity.Sure enough, I used to think that I already had enough money, but I couldn't even make it for one bidding...

Half a day later, Li Xijing came in sweating profusely, his face full of surprise: "Back to Jiuye, twenty merchants have been selected. The highest is 41, and the lowest is 25. Even the ones you noticed The three Iron Hat Prince's Mansions, Prince Jian's Mansion and Chengjun Prince's Mansion were also directly bid, only Prince Zhuang took care of them a little bit, and the reserve price was 19."

Yinzhen stared at him intently, and nodded at the end, with a faint smile on his face: "Okay, choose once every three years, and these twenty merchants hand in more than two million taels of silver every year, nearly 200 taels in three years." Ten thousand taels." How many times has it been doubled, Huang Ama should be satisfied...

He Yuzhu just came back from inquiring, and his face was full of joy, "Master, Mr. Su won the bid. But I heard that because of insufficient money, he co-authored it with someone else..."

Chengjun Palace.

A beautiful young woman came to Xibao's study. The servant at the door of the study saw him and hurriedly wanted to enter the study to announce that the woman had already pushed the door open and barged in.

Xi Bao, who was writing the notes, raised his head impatiently, and when he saw the person in front of him, he had a flash of understanding, and asked lazily, "Yue Rong, what's the big deal for rushing into the master's study?"

This woman is Xi Baoxin's most beloved concubine, Shen Shi Yuerong, and Shen Da, the housekeeper of Chengjun Prince's Mansion, is her brother.Yue Rong was twisting her waist and walking towards the desk, when she heard Xi Bao's words, she suddenly felt a layer of coldness on her body.

This study, Xibao has always not allowed people to intrude.

She hesitated for a while, the circles of her eyes turned red, and the eyeballs fell down one by one, like beads with broken threads.She knew that what Xi Bao loved the most was her frail appearance.

"My lord, why did you let Yang Zhong replace my elder brother from the Nu family and become the chief housekeeper? He has served your house for so many years, and he has worked hard without credit. How can he show face to others after leaving?" Shen cried, While talking coquettishly: "Master, if there is something wrong with my brother, my family has apologized for him, do you think it is possible to accommodate him and let him return it?"

Xi Bao laughed slowly, reached out his hand to wipe away the tears on Yue Rong's face, pinched the delicate skin under his hand, and said, "It's okay to come back, I heard that there are few concierges, let him go to the back door."

Shen was speechless for a while, Xibao had already sent a maid to take Shen back to the house.

"Misfortune comes from the mouth." Many people asked why Shen Da was demoted, Yang Zhong murmured.

Nine Princes Mansion, Banyan Courtyard.

"Su Yang, why do you want to partner with someone else?" Yinzhen asked puzzled, the minimum is 25, so it's not impossible for this side to take it out.

At the end of the first lunar month, it was still cold, and the kang and brazier in the house had not been removed.Yinzhen came in from the outside, still shivering a few times.

Seeing this, Su Yang went to make tea, poured it himself and handed it to Yinzhen, and said, "Master, I know that person, the Qin family on Gulou West Street has always had business contacts with us, and he is trustworthy. What's more, the 30 that was handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs is divided equally between our two families, and some money will be invested later. With their participation, the principal will be more and the income will be more."

Holding hot tea, Yinzhen asked after listening, "It's a good thing to have more principal, how will the future share be calculated?"

Su Yang looked up at Yinzhen, his squinted eyes seemed to be shining, and he smiled with comprehension, "Sure enough, I thought of this question first, four or six points, we account for [-]%. I was thinking about three or seven, There will be no further concessions.”

Yinzhen was quite satisfied with the sharing ratio, and nodded with a smile, "You've done a good job. Although we still have some spare money, the bigger the principal, the higher the profit."

It was late at this time, and Jiahui must have had dinner, so Yinzhen ordered the dinner to be served in Su Yang's room, and some wine to be boiled.In the ninth elder brother's house, Su Yang is not so much his disciple as Yinzhen's teacher and friend.

Su Yang heard Yinzhen's words, and glanced at him with a smile: "Jiu Ye, I'm really in a good mood today, but is there a happy event?"

Yinzhen's hand holding the food paused, put down the chopsticks, picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, happy event.

At this great court meeting, Kangxi announced that he would inspect the river workers in the south, the crown prince Yinfeng, the third elder brother Yinzhi, the fifth elder brother Yinqi, the eighth elder brother Yinhu, the thirteenth elder brother Yinxiang, and the fourteenth elder brother Yinzhen. .

Kangxi praised the prince and Yinhu, who had done a great job recently, and everyone in his highness was busy agreeing, most of them praised the prince for his intelligence, and Suo Ertu nodded secretly while stroking his beard.Ma Qi, the censor of Zuodu, looked expressionlessly at Yinreng in bright yellow clothes, and then at Suo'etu, with a look of boredom flashing in his eyes.When Ma Qi saw Yinhu standing quietly and smiling, his face softened a little.No matter how others flatter the prince, Ma Qi is not a person who follows others.

It is also worth mentioning that since Brother Thirteen drove north with him last time, Kangxi will take it with him every time he travels.He and the fourteenth elder brother are as clever as two ghosts, but they are quite favored by Kangxi.The ministers couldn't help but think again, to see which little master could speak the truth in front of Kangxi.

The eldest son of the emperor, Yinzhen, the fourth son of the emperor, Yinzhen, acted as an agent of government affairs in the court, and the rest stayed in Beijing to assist.

It's the end of January, that is to say, Sheng Jia will be on his southern tour in a few days.Yinzhen was counting the time, and in a trance, he met a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling. When he saw Yinzhen, there was obvious doting and distress in those dark black eyes.

Every time she is looked at by those eyes, Yinzhen feels that everything she thinks is seen through by this person, and there is nothing to hide.Yinzhen suffocated for breath, looked at each other for a long time before reacting, and turned his eyes away.Yinhu visited Yinhu several times, and later sent someone to invite him and brother ten, but Yinhu made excuses to push them away.In the eyes of others, Yinhu, Yinhu and the old ten Yinhu are still the closest.In fact, all three of them knew that Yinhu and Yinhu had reached the point where they only said a few words on the spot when they met.

Yinzhen asked Yinzhen the reason why the two of them were wrong, but Yinzhen couldn't say it out of his mouth, but felt very bitter in his heart.

The habit of more than ten years was forcibly peeled off, as if the flesh and blood involved were removed, it hurt my heart, but there was no other way.

Yinhu didn't want to go to listen to Yinhu's explanation, he didn't need to go back to the past.The eighth elder brother Yinhu, the famous eight sage kings, maybe he was not someone he could provoke in the first place.

Yinhu, on the other hand, never seemed to think about explaining.

……

Yinzhen lowered his head and continued to drink, the corners of his mouth curled up, "I'm going out of Beijing, of course I should be happy."

Su Yang looked at Yinzhen's smile, and sighed in his heart, how can someone smile so beautifully and bewitchingly, like a ghost coming out of the mountain to seduce scholars.

"Even if you like it, you have to go early and come back early. Don't forget that we are all thinking about it."

In Su Yang's low voice, Yinzhen didn't speak any more, he had already fallen asleep on Su Yang Kang in a trance.Su Yang asked someone to take away the kang table, stood silently by the kang for a while, helped him cover the quilt, and went to the outer room.

Although Yinzhen made a lot of noise in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, few people knew that he was going to the border of Oros in person.

Before Kangxi's southern tour, Yinyu forced Yinyu, who had just come out of the House of Internal Affairs, to Baage's Mansion, to send Yinhu who was about to leave Beijing.Yinhu was busy with the errands ordered by Kangxi, and the three of them almost only stayed for a cup of tea.

Yinhu and Yinyu talked about the arrangement for the future, and finally looked at Yinyu, before Yinyu looked away, held Yinyu's shoulder with his right hand, leaned over and said, "Ninth brother, take care, wait for me to come back."

Yinhu opened his mouth, but didn't say anything, Yinhu had already left in a hurry.Yinhu has too many errands now, and even the third elder brother who has always prided himself on being noble feels a little bitter when he sees Yinhu who is busy.

Ba Fujin came over and talked with him for a while, but Yinzhen didn't notice something in his heart, but Yuhua looked at him from time to time.

Nine princes mansion, garden.

Jiahui has been pregnant for nearly five months, and her body is quite bulky.Knowing that Yinzhen was going to travel far away, there was reluctance and vague sadness in his eyes.

Yinzhen took the big cloak from Yuzhu, put it on Jiahui, and gently supported her arm for a walk in the garden: "Jiahui, it's really my negligence that I can't be with you these few months. I will definitely Come back before you give birth, and until then, take care of you and the baby."

Jiahui's heart was sour, she lowered her head, not to let Yinzhen see her red eye circles.But puffed up, stretched out his hand to take Yinzhen's hand, and said in a worried voice: "Master, if, if it's my daughter..."

Yinzhen was stunned for a moment, then smiled, and put his hand on Jiahui's stomach, "Don't think about it, whether it is a son or a daughter, she will be my favorite child."

Jiahui looked up at Yinzhen, such a handsome and noble person, but so gentle, who said he was fickle...

For a moment, I stared in a daze.

Yuzhu and the other maidservants covered their mouths and laughed, Jiahui realized that there were not two people in the garden, she blushed and lowered her head.

In front of the Moon Gate in the far distance of the garden, Wanyan Danjing, who was dressed in a light pink flag, looked at the two people in the garden, biting her lower lip, and angrily broke off the branch in her hand.

……

On the third day of February, Kangxi started his tour of the south.

At the beginning of March, when the weather began to gradually warm up, Yinzhen left.The place where he and the Oros envoys met was Kulun, the main city of Khalkha Mongolia. The transportation was convenient, and it was not far from the border town of Qiaktu between the Qing Dynasty and Oros.

Because Kulun was in the territory of the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi did not object.

During this trip, Yinzhen's other identity was that of an imperial envoy to Mongolia, under the guise of inspecting and expressing condolences to the Mongolian ethnic groups.

Yinzhen is an expensive elder brother and has the status of an imperial envoy. There are more than 20 people escorting the imperial guards alone, and nearly 300 people accompany Yinzhen's own bodyguards, Gao Wengaowu He Yuzhu, etc. along the way.

The twenty selected imperial merchants had already set off with goods ten days ago, and it is estimated that they will arrive in about the same time as Yinzhen.

Yinzhen personally sent it out of the city, looking at the Buddhist bead bracelet on Yinzhen's wrist, he was stunned.

He smiled and said, "Xiao Jiu, come back safely as soon as possible."