The most unlucky crossing in history

In this war with the Uyghurs, the imperial court kept the news hidden. Before the war, almost no one knew about it. It was only on September 28, when the battle broke out, that the news that the Northwest Army raided the Uyghurs stationed in Jiaole City’s barracks suddenly exploded. Up and down.

However, unlike the heroic ambitions of the soldiers in the Northwest who were fearless of life and death and marched forward courageously, too many literati in the Great Dawn Dynasty were influenced by the trend of thinking that emphasized literature over martial arts in the past few decades. When they heard that the Northwest Army had raided the Uyghurs with the intention of retaking Jiaole City, they refuted accusations and even sang bad words one after another.

"Let's stop this war, how could the court make such a muddled decision at this time!"

"How about Uighur's iron hooves, the Northwest Army has suffered several defeats, and still don't understand?!"

"Exactly! Of course Jiaole and other cities will be taken back, but this is not the time. The old general Xie Cheng has abdicated, and the new general is only nineteen years old. How could he win?"

"If this angers the Uighurs, not to mention taking back Geal, I'm afraid the Northwest and other places will not be able to hold it!"

"It's over, it's over, I'm so happy today, I don't care about the people of the world!"

Words like this are endless.The literati who have always been respected by Dazhu are talking and discussing like this. Ordinary people don't know the reason, and they can't see the deep meaning behind it.

The war has caused panic at the beginning, and some people later said that they don't know when the flames of war will spread to the Central Plains and spread to the south of the Yangtze River, and the angry cavalry of the Uyghurs will cross the Yumen Pass.

The news of the inevitable defeat was so loud that it even obliterated the good news that the Northwest Army had seized the three cities including Jiaole in the Northwest, and beat the Uighurs by surprise.On October 25, Ye Hezhe, the king of the Uyghurs, attacked the city of Ashali with a heavy army. The news of the stalemate between the two armies came, and there was another round of curses in the middle school.

Of course, there are caring people such as the Zhang family who contributed to the flames, but it is true that the nature of the Chinese people has been stabilized, so that such a situation will appear.

At the beginning of November, when the news came that tens of thousands of Shendu troops had detoured to the north of the Tianshan Mountains to join the Uyghur army, unexpectedly, the noisy voices in the workshops, and the chattering words of scholars in teahouses and bookstores disappeared in an instant. The crowds of people in the streets and alleys and the lively street scenes disappeared together.

It was also at this time that people

I understand, but when I really know the fear, I can't say anything.

It was also at this time that those merchants who had been watching the war found Zhong Qiyun's house one by one.

It should be said that for so many years, Hu Yanzhang, the head of the Hu family, the largest of the five families, was the first time he came to someone else's home to discuss business in person.

Hu Yanzhang looked at Zhong Qiyun who was smiling and proposing conditions in front of him, and suddenly remembered the first time he saw Zhong Qiyun in the mansion a few years ago.

He only has a thousand taels of silver, but he is willing to 'reveal' to Wen Xunyang and Shen Yan the idea of ​​hoarding a fortune in Taizhou to make money, so as to make friends with the Wen family and the Shen family for greater benefits.

On that day, Hu Yanzhang felt that this person would not be just an ordinary merchant, even if he started from scratch, he would definitely be able to reach the status of Wen's family in time.But now it seems that he, Hu Yanzhang, underestimated this person...

Thinking of the battle of the ship merchants that he secretly promoted, but was defeated by Zhong Qiyun, allowing Zhong Qiyun to take the opportunity to engulf the other caravans and strengthen the Zhong family, Hu Yanzhang smiled, and finally he nodded and said: "I agreed to what you just mentioned. "

Zhong Qiyun laughed and said, "Master Hu is not in a hurry. The junior just said one plan. In fact, I prepared two plans earlier. Why don't Master Hu listen to the second cooperation method?"

Seeing the cunning in Zhong Qiyun's eyes, he didn't know what Zhong Qiyun was planning, but Hu Yanzhang thought about it and smiled, "Let's talk, Boss Zhong."

"The 15-year offer just mentioned remains unchanged." Zhong Qiyun said slowly: "Master Hu, you also know that no matter how stable the voyage is, there will always be mistakes. If you make a mistake, you will not only lose everything, but may even suffer heavy losses. In order to avoid such risks...... During this period of time, many friends in business have come to me. What I propose is to set aside the cost of the net profit of four or six. My Zhong family takes six, and as for the loss It is to bear the burden together, but Master Hu, I can promise you five percent of the net profit, and I will bear all the risks of losing money."

Hu Yanzhang's expression changed when he heard this. Zhong Qiyun's words meant that no matter whether it was a loss or a camp to transport silk to foreign countries, he would bear it himself, and every time he went to sea, he would not let his Hu family lose a penny.

And five cents net profit...

If you increase the profit by one point, that is ten thousand taels of silver. It is impossible for Hu Yanzhang not to understand how much profit Zhong Qiyun is giving up.

However, where may there be no profit for no reason?Hu Yanzhang looked at Zhong Qiyun, he didn't say yes or no, he just observed

Looking at Zhong Qiyun, looking at the expression on Zhong Qiyun's face, he slowly asked: "What other conditions does Boss Zhong want to raise?"

When Hu Yanzhang asked this question, Zhong Qiyun no longer hid it. He said, "It's not a big request. I just want Master Hu to send me something."

"You said."

Zhong Qiyun whispered something to Hu Yanzhang.

Hu Yanzhang paused after hearing this, and then asked in confusion: "Is this all you need?"

"Yes."

Hu Yanzhang thought about it carefully, and then asked: "But the emperor ordered you to ask for it?"

Zhong Qiyun thought for a while, then shook his head and said, "Not really, I just want to be prepared."

"It's worth 15 years of interest in exchange for this little thing, do you really think it's worth it?"

Zhong Qiyun listened, poured a cup of tea for Hu Yanzhang, and smiled: "If you talk about the price, it is naturally not worth it. A few days ago, our two families had some unnecessary conflicts. If we can use this to turn hostility into friendship, we can make good friends with Mr. Hu." That is worth a thousand dollars.”

What Zhong Qiyun was talking about was of course the business war.

After hearing this, Hu Yanzhang smiled calmly and took Zhong Qiyun's tea.He looked at the younger generation in front of him and admired him more and more, but he was only 26, but his mind was very clear and intelligent. If the kid in his family had one-fifth of his ability, then he wouldn't have to worry about it until now.

Thinking of this, Hu Yanzhang's eyes moved, he took a sip of tea, and then slowly asked: "I heard that Boss Zhong is not married yet?"

Zhong Qiyun understood Hu Yanzhang's meaning as soon as he heard it, and he responded immediately: "It's true not yet, but I already have a place in my heart, and I think it will come soon."

"Oh? That's how it is. Then Hu will congratulate Boss Zhong here first."

Although they didn't point out a word or a word, both of them understood each other's meaning. Afterwards, Zhong Qiyun and Hu Yanzhang talked about other business matters, and they didn't talk about it anymore.

On the third day of November in the first year of Shengning, when the north wind blew in winter, the Zhong family's fleet sailed southward.

On the eighth day of November, Zhong Qiyun and others came to Li Chonghuai, the head of the Li family in Sichuan and Shu.

When the news of Uighur and Shen Du attacking Dazhu and forcing the northwest army to retreat spread to Hangzhou, big businessmen from all over the country came to the Li family bank one after another to take out the money.

The two talked for an hour on the third floor of Chengfeng Station, and Li Chonghuai sighed: "Brother Zhong will definitely help me."

Li Chonghuai is only 34 to [-] years old, in his prime, not tall and thin, but

But he was very alert, and he spoke Sichuan and Shu dialect. It was only the first time that the two met, and they called each other brother and brother in every sentence.

"Hey, Brother Li really overestimated me. My Zhong family has only been sailing for a few years, and it's only this year that I have seen some improvement. The silver taels on hand are only so much? Compared with the ones drawn by other brothers, it is really a drop in the bucket. How can I help you!"

"Brother Zhong said that!" Li Chonghuai said with a smile: "Who doesn't know what your Zhong family is saying now, and those people just listen to what they say. In fact, this is not a big deal. Everyone is just afraid that my Li family will change their minds midway." Packed up and ran away, but my Li family’s ancestral house is in Sichuan and Shu, and the monks can’t run away from the temple. Can the bank take it? It’s okay not to take out the money first, but it’s just a war. My Li family has experienced more wars than this more than 100 years ago. Isn’t it preserved to this day? Brother Zhong can just tell them. .”

Zhong Qiyun looked at Li Chonghuai who was smiling, and the situation was set. Seeing that it was almost done, he let go and said, "It's not impossible for me to help Brother Li..."

Of course Li Chonghuai knew that there were still conditions, he quickly said: "You say what you say, as long as you can do it for your brother, you will definitely go through fire and water."

Zhong Qiyun looked around and saw no one was around, so he moved closer to Li Chonghuai and said, "I heard that the Li family is related to the Sixth Prince?"

Li Chonghuai's expression changed suddenly, and then he remembered that Zhong Qiyun was watching from the sidelines. He pretended to panic and said: "Who said that! How can my Li family have anything to do with the sixth prince? Brother Zhong, don't talk nonsense!"

Zhong Qiyun smiled and said, "Brother Li, I'm talking about the sixth son of Taizu, Prince Zhenyuan."

When Li Chonghuai heard it, he knew that Zhong Qiyun was tricking him on purpose. Thinking of Zhong Qiyun helping Tan Yuanyong deal with Wei Hechao, although he didn't know how much Zhong Qiyun knew, he still thought about it and said, "Well, I won't lie to my brother, my father It is true that I had some old friends with the Sixth Prince during my lifetime, but that is also a matter of the previous generation."

Of course Zhong Qiyun knew that Li Chonghuai hadn't told the whole truth, he said: "Tell Brother Li the truth, I'm going to ask you to tell you that the sixth prince's orphan is no longer worthy, and he and those masters still can't win the power. Don’t let this affect this generation.”

Li Chonghuai knows it when he hears it

Emperor Dao Shengning knew everything.

Seeing that Li Chonghuai did not speak, Zhong Qiyun continued: "Actually, there is a sentence in my heart that I don't know whether to say it or not."

Li Chonghuai looked at Zhong Qiyun, "Brother Zhong, let's talk."

"The Zhang family helped Zhuo Wanzhou for the sake of power and to change the lives of merchants, but what are you here for, Brother Li? To be an official? I don't think Brother Li looks like he wants to be an official. Want power? Power comes with responsibility, although I haven't been in touch for a few hours, but I think Brother Li doesn't like restraint."

"Brother Li, I think you have a bold temper, but your eyes are clear, and you are also a person who values ​​love and righteousness. Before you came to find me, you must have known my background, and you know that I am a merchant who has been favored by the emperor. That's not right with you, but even so, you still came to me for the Li family's bank, so I can think that brother Li chose the bank because of the unknown reason and the future of the bank?"

Li Chonghuai was stunned and couldn't speak, as if talking about his heart, he sighed after a long time: "Sometimes, kindness is even more difficult to repay."

Zhong Qiyun didn't know what the kindness Li Chonghuai was talking about was, but no matter what, it must be a matter of the previous generation. After thinking about it, he said: "Brother Li has risked great dangers to protect Zhuo Wanzhou for many years. Pay it back, what the emperor meant, I don't think the Li family really wants to be that treacherous person, as long as the Li family doesn't do anything, then the emperor won't blame him."

Li Chonghuai sighed: "He wants me not to supply weapons to Mr. Zhuo?"

"Yes." Zhong Qiyun thought for a while and said: "Brother, tell Brother Li the truth, I don't know if Brother Li thinks so much, if you compare Zhuo Wanzhou with Tan Yuanyong, who do you think is more strategic and has a better chance of winning?" ? Although I don’t know much about it, I have been hiding behind many counselors for so many years and dare not step forward. To put it bluntly, such a person cannot win.”

"If it loses, the Li family will be forever lost. Brother Li, for the kindness that has already been repaid, why bother with a big family of 200 years, why don't you stop as soon as possible."