The return of the son-in-law

At sunrise, the high fevers of the Tatar people who ate the jerky subsided one after another, and most of the small red bumps on their bodies disappeared, leaving only a few sporadic ones, which were not harmful to people.

Seeing that his clansmen were all fine, Ning Guhan decided to lead the people to leave Shen County, and he fulfilled his promise.

Unexpectedly, Guo Zhanan stopped him when he was about to leave: "Where are you going?"

Ning Guhan held back his anger and said: "Don't worry, I, Ning Guhan, will do what I say. Let's leave here now and go where we should go."

"Go back to the grassland? Don't you have family fun?" Guo Zhan'an looked at him and said, "I said, if you have any difficulties, you can tell me."

But Ning Guhan flatly refused: "We will figure out a way ourselves."

"Find a way?" Guo Zhan'an said further, "What can you think of? Your family is gone. Even if you go back, can your people survive?"

Ning Guhan's face froze, and he asked unwillingly, "What do you really want?"

Guo Zhanan told everyone on his side to retreat, and he walked up to Ning Guhan, and whispered: "I will show you a way to survive, so that your people can survive this winter."

Ning Guhan was really tempted, and worried that Guo Zhan'an would lie to him, so he could only pretend to be indifferent, and asked, "What can I do?"

Guo Zhanan said: "We have all the food and clothing you lack for winter. What we lack are the ore and the best cowhide under the grassland. If you want, you can exchange these with us."

Ning Guhan frowned and said: "I can't give you ore, but cowhide."

The weapons made of these ores are extremely sharp, and they are the magic weapon for the Tatars to fight in all directions. It is absolutely impossible for Ning Guhan to hand over such a precious treasure to Guo Zhanan.

Guo Zhanan was not discouraged, and said: "I will finish this matter when I go back. About ten days later, the outpost three miles away from Hua County on the border of Xuzhou will open for business. I will not interfere with what goods you exchange, and what is the ratio? These are to be discussed between yourselves and our merchants."

Ning Guhan was a little disbelieving: "Doing business on the border openly, won't those soldiers kill us?"

Guo Zhan'an promised: "Don't worry, I will handle this matter. If you don't believe me, you can send someone back with me, or go to the border to ambush in ten days, and see my sincerity with your own eyes."

Ning Guhan had no other choice at this time, it was not long before the winter, and they didn't have much money left, and they could only last for more than half a month.If they can't think of any other way, and there is no food source, I am afraid that none of their tribe will be able to survive this winter.

Thinking of this, Ning Guhan could only grit his teeth and agree: "Okay, after ten days, I will bring the special products on the grassland to the place you mentioned. If you lie to me, don't blame me for turning my face and denying people."

Guo Zhanan smiled and nodded, "Naturally."

The two of them made an agreement and made an appointment for a time and place to meet again. Guo Zhan'an appointed several government servants in Shen County to accompany the people of the Ningguhan tribe to the border.One is to monitor these Tatars to ensure that they have indeed left; the other is to protect these Tatars. After all, they may encounter many patrolling soldiers along the way. The Tatars may not be able to go back to the grassland.

After dealing with the matter in Shen County, Guo Zhanan returned to Xuzhou non-stop, and wrote another letter to the restaurant, asking them to quickly notify Jiang Yannian to come to Xuzhou for discussion.

Jiang Yannian got the news and happened to be taking a rest the next day, so he left everything behind and came to the Guo Mansion in Xuzhou.

Guo Zhanan brought Jiang Yannian to the study, and You Fuquan stood outside the study so that no one would disturb him.

Seeing Guo Zhanan being so careful, Jiang Yannian knew that the important matters to be discussed in his letter must be extraordinary.So, he also put away his usual sloppy smiling face, and asked straight to the point: "Why did you call me here?"

Guo Zhan'an then told about his experience in Shen County, and then revealed his plan: "This business cannot fall into other people's hands for the time being, you ask the shopkeeper of your restaurant to come forward and personally take people to fight with those Tatars. Do business."

Jiang Yannian didn't immediately agree, but instead asked: "Why do you want to do business with those Tatars? Tatar's cowhide is indeed a good thing, extremely tough, and it's good for light armor. But now, with Tatars Tongshang, aren’t you afraid that someone will accuse you of treason?”

Guo Zhan'an didn't have such concerns, or he had thought about it a long time ago, and replied: "Don't worry, I'm not going to take the credit this time."

"You don't want to take it? Who do you want to give it up to?"

"Xie Bing." Guo Zhanan analyzed, "I have done too much in the past year. Although everything is for the sake of the country, it is inevitable that people will fall into the tongue. The emperor will continue to let me do the general judgment this time, and send another Xie Bing to come. It’s nothing more than wanting Xie Bing to suppress me. After all, Xie Bing is my superior. He is upright, but he is too rigid in doing things and doesn’t know how to be flexible. He is a little afraid of me, and I decide many things. But if I If he manages too much, his fear can just turn into suppression. At that time, hehe, he is my peak, and I have to give in on many things."

Jiang Yannian stared at Guo Zhan'an for a long time, and finally sighed: "You have too many eyes, and you can see Xie Bing so thoroughly. I'm still happy for you. Such a good old man came. This Xuzhou is your eldest brother." It’s time to show your ambitions. According to what you say, you are really tied.”

Guo Zhanan shook his head with a smile and said, "Then I would also like to thank my biological father and stepmother. Without the two of them, what would I do with all my heart?"

Jiang Yannian said again: "Master Guo with a lot of eyes, you have more plans than that, right?"

"Sure enough, I can't hide it from you," Guo Zhan'an continued, "According to what Naning Guhan said, I guess his tribe's territory was occupied by other tribes, so he had to take his tribe and sneak to Shen County. I I made a rough estimate of their tribe yesterday, and there are only a few dozen left, and half of them are young men like him, but half of them are injured. Now he is back on the grassland, except for the one I pointed out to him He has no other choice."

Jiang Yannian had already grasped the meaning of Guo Zhanan's words, and couldn't help but continued: "Even if he doesn't give us the ore now, when he relies on the food and clothing we give, he will have to give us whatever we want."

"That's right," Guo Zhan'an nodded, "So at the beginning I need your people to do this. They can change whatever they want, and the quantity and quality must be guaranteed. When they become dependent, it won't be them It's up to you."

Jiang Yannian excitedly slapped the table and said, "Your heart is really cruel! If they don't give us the ore, they will just wait to die! If it comes to the ability to make weapons, of course our craftsmen are better, but it's a pity , our ore is not as good as theirs, and we have only collected a little Tatar ore sporadically over the years. Follow your method, and you won't have to worry about ore in the future!"

Guo Zhan'an thought Jiang Yannian was boasting himself, and said: "If things go well, the prestige of the third prince will also increase."

Jiang Yannian became anxious, and said, "No, no, we can't bring him in. The situation in the capital is too complicated now, that kid Li Shaojin is devastated, and I heard that even some of his private soldiers have been found out, but the emperor It's just a small punishment for him, let him think about his mistakes behind closed doors, and other things will be written off! Liu Yuanheng is at home, but his son Liu Wenhua has become a small official in the capital, and his father's disciples are behind him. A while ago, news came from the capital that the emperor intends to crown Li Shaojin king."

"Conferring the king? Is the emperor crazy?" Guo Zhanan sneered and said, "Li Shaojin has raised private soldiers, and he is waiting for the day when he raises his arms and rushes into the palace to seize power! He is now giving Li Shaojin the title of king. Do you think your life is too long!"

Jiang Yannian was also very disdainful, the two of them grew up with Li Shaojun, and they often witnessed how the emperor Li Chonghao favored Li Shaojin and suppressed Li Shaojun.Now there are only the two of them in the study. Instead of blaming Guo Zhanan for being disrespectful to the emperor, Jiang Yannian went on to say, "What else can he do? I don't know who got involved in the matter of Li Shaojin's private soldiers. Now the court supports the third prince." The voices are getting louder and louder, and the matter of establishing a reserve a few days ago has been brought up again. The emperor now wants to suppress the third prince, but the other sons are still young, so he can only pull out his useless fourth son and the third son Play the ring."

Guo Zhan'an sighed, and said: "The attitude of the emperor is indeed important. Li Shaojin cannot be allowed to be crowned king first. If a concubine who ranks fourth ranks first to be crowned king over the previous sons, I am afraid that a large number of people will turn against each other."

Jiang Yannian was also worried about this matter: "It's a pity that you and I are both soft-spoken and can't speak in the court. You also know my family, we behave with our tails between our legs, and as long as we don't cause trouble to the third prince, we can only speak for him in the clear stream." That's all."

Guo Zhan'an comforted him and said: "This is enough. The power of the aristocratic family should not be underestimated. If they support the third prince, the emperor will definitely have to think twice. But you, the army needs your help in this matter of trade. , don’t let any military ruffian take the opportunity to extort and ruin our event.”

Jiang Yannian raised his eyebrows and said, "Naturally, I've sent someone to investigate the centurion you wrote about in your letter, and I'll give you news in two days."

The two discussed some more details before Jiang Yannian left.

After Jiang Yannian left, Huo Yu came in with a bowl in his hand, and said with a smile: "Brother has worked hard, the old duck stew just cooked in the kitchen, I specially scooped up a bowl for my brother to drink first, to warm his stomach."

Guo Zhanan put down the official business in his hand, went around the desk and walked in front of Huo Yu, pinched his cheek with a smile, and asked, "Why didn't you deliver it just now? Didn't come out to entertain the guests."

Huo Yu wrinkled his nose and said, "Don't come out, that Mr. Jiang would make fun of me when he saw me, so I won't let him drink the old duck pot."

Guo Zhan'an laughed loudly: "When did I short your butler's money? I don't even want to give Jiang Yannian a bowl of old duck soup. If he finds out, he might make fun of you again."

Huo Yu hurriedly said, "Brother, it's fine if you don't tell him. Come on, brother, drink it while it's hot."

Guo Zhan'an led Huo Yu to sit down, only to find that there was still a duck leg in the bowl, the meat had been boiled so crispy, it was loosely attached to the bone, when he bit it down, the juice inside burst into his tongue, it was really delicious.

He felt warm in his heart, knowing that Huo Yu was missing him, and worried that he couldn't help, so he took care of his daily life and food himself.Guo Zhan'an also thought about the past few months, although Jia Huan was the chief executive of the Guo Mansion, Huo Yu had put in a lot of effort in it. Like an iron barrel.

After taking another two sips of soup, Guo Zhan'an put down the spoon when he saw Huo Yu was looking at him, and said teasingly, "It is said that wives and husbands are less likely to be harmed. Our Mrs. Guo is really good."

Huo Yu blushed, and said, "Madam Guo, brother, stop joking, I'm a man, so I can't be a wife."

Guo Zhan'an continued to tease him: "Are you Mrs. Guo? Did I say you are Mrs. Guo? You think of yourself as Mrs. Guo so quickly, are we consummated?"

Huo Yu became anxious: "Brother!"

Guo Zhanan responded: "Here you are, what are you calling me for?"

Huo Yu felt as if his whole face was on fire, he lowered his head and said, "Brother, there are people outside, please keep your voice down."

Guo Zhanan hugged him into his arms with a smile, and bit his ear: "Okay, I will talk about it when there is no one around at night, okay? But you, have you finished your homework during the two days I was away? If I will check later and find that it is not completed, so you have to do as we agreed, huh?"

Huo Yu just remembered this, and quickly broke away from Guo Zhanan's embrace, saying, "It's almost there, I'm going to make up for it now."

Seeing his running back, Guo Zhan'an didn't stop him, he just waited to "punish" Huo Yu at night.

Not to mention the tenderness between the two, ten days later, because Guo Zhanan couldn't get away, he asked Fuquan to go to the outpost with a group of people from the restaurant.

Ning Guhan led ten people to hide in the sidelines early on. When he saw a caravan coming, he showed up alone.

He didn't want to get close to the outpost, after all, the shining weapons of the soldiers in the outpost were not a small threat to him.Fuquan had been with Guo Zhan for a long time, and he was quite clever in handling things. He simply discussed with the restaurant owner and moved the place where the two parties did business a little further, not next to the outpost, but also within the range where the soldiers could arrive in time.

Ning Guhan has prepared a lot of things here, besides cowhide, there are cow horns, cow bone wine, and small objects made by the Tatars themselves.

Because of Jiang Yannian's advance explanation, the shopkeeper of the restaurant didn't haggle too much, seeing that these things were indeed high-quality goods, he readily exchanged the things he had prepared with Ning Guhan.

The first business of Tongshang ended soon. Ning Guhan left with about ten days’ worth of food and other items for the winter, and the shopkeeper of the restaurant also returned with a full load. After being checked by the soldiers at the outpost, he rushed to Go back to Xuzhou and explain to Guo Zhanan.

The trade deal once every ten days was carried out twice. Other merchants in Xuzhou heard the news and prepared a lot of goods to follow the shopkeeper of the restaurant to the outpost to trade with the Tatars.

In this regard, Guo Zhan'an did not stop it, but just asked the restaurant owner to pay attention to the quality of the goods prepared by other merchants, so as not to hurt his reputation and affect his future plans.

As New Year's Eve approached, Guo Zhan'an felt that the time was right, so he took the initiative to go to Xie Bing, omitting the agreement between himself and Ning Guhan, and only told about a businessman doing business with the Tatars, and said: "Although Tatars and this dynasty After fighting for many years, we should not have done business with Tatar. But there are many tribes in Tatar, we can take this opportunity to divide Tatar, so that some Tatars have to rely on the goods we provide, and put their lives in our hands .”

Xie Bing is old-fashioned, so he naturally disagrees: "Tata is a feud with us, we must not let them get any benefits from us! In my opinion, these businessmen are collaborators in disguise and must be severely punished!"

Guo Zhan'an had expected this a long time ago, and threw out the rhetoric he had prepared a long time ago: "The Tatars do business with us because they can't survive. If we prohibit merchants from trading with them, these Tatars will harass Looting the people on the border. The situation in the northwest is already tense, and the military salary embezzled in the past five years has not been recovered, and the military equipment and supplies in the northwest are simply not enough to support the war with Tatar. Right now, this is our best choice."

Xie Bing said he couldn't beat him, and wanted to save face for himself, so he said dissatisfiedly: "In this case, let's turn a blind eye and close one eye, and don't let Tatar's spies take the opportunity to get in."

Guo Zhan'an said again: "The ore from Tatar is the best raw material for making weapons. Unfortunately, we have never been able to mine it in large quantities. If Your Excellency reports this matter to His Majesty, and His Majesty can order us to do business with the Tatar people, we will There will be more merchants involved. By then, those Tatars will be used to exchanging food, clothes, livestock, etc. with us for things they find ordinary, and the ore will be no problem at all.”

With such words, Xie Bing couldn't help but be moved.However, he still had some hesitation: "But if His Majesty blames it, what should we do?"

Guo Zhan'an understood, and said: "Don't worry, my lord. If your majesty blames me, it means that I have failed to supervise and let those merchants do business with the Tatars. My lord takes care of everything every day, but I trust me so much, but I have a responsibility. It is really embarrassing." Shame."

Xie Bing got Guo Zhan'an's guarantee, so he was relieved and said: "In this case, I will write a note to His Majesty."

Xie Bingyi thought that if this matter was done well, he could leave a huge mark in the history books, so he forgot to investigate why Guo Zhanan gave up this good thing, and even took the initiative to take all the responsibilities.

The first step of Guo Zhanan's plan has been achieved.