[BL MTL] After being dressed as cannon fodder, he fought with the villain.

271-280

Chapter 271 Takes the Capital by storm

Ge Shangshu only went to see it once, and never went to the shop again, but he didn't need to see it in person to know that glass would soon become a fashionable thing in the capital, and the glass shop could make a fortune every day. Too much, who would have thought that something made from such raw materials could be sold at such a high price.

The income from selling glass can be used to pave roads and build bridges. Thinking about it this way, Shangshu Ge and the cabinet ministers no longer think that the glass is very expensive. Anyway, whether it is jewelry or glass windows, they are currently only available to wealthy people. Affordability has nothing to do with ordinary people. When people's lives get better in the future, we can just lower the price of glass.

Glass products caused a sensation in the capital. Ge Shangshu and Jin Shangshu asked those in charge of business to seize the time to open shops in Jiangnan and other places. There were not necessarily fewer rich people in Jiangnan than in the capital, so they did not feel at all interested in plundering money from them. It's too much. Anyway, it will be used on the common people in the end. After the roads are built, these rich people will also use it.

Even the emperor was shocked when he saw the glass shop's daily income. He thought he had underestimated the wealth of the powerful families in the capital, and all of this was brought by Gu Zhao. The emperor thought about it, just mentioning Gu Zhao's The official position is still too light, but if you think about adding other rewards to Gu Zhao, I am afraid it will make him too conspicuous in the capital. Of course, now, Gu Zhao is already conspicuous enough.

The emperor called the princess over and asked her if she knew what Gu Zhao needed. Give him a reward of gold and silver. To be honest, Gu Zhao himself was quite rich. Looking at Gu Zhao's life, he was not a person who pursued pleasure. Let's give him a title promotion. People in the court have not yet seen enough benefits from cement, so it is not too early to mention it.

"Father, why don't you give him a hot spring village? This is something he can't buy even if he has money." The village with hot springs around the capital has long been divided up by the powerful, and it is not easy to buy and sell.

"That's okay. Where's the house?"

"I don't think so. Otherwise, if the emperor wants to reward him with two houses, he would have to have two houses connected together, so that he can take care of the relationship between his adoptive parents and his biological mother."

The emperor immediately thought of it . Gu Zhao's bizarre life experience also made him curious about the situation of his biological mother and adoptive parents. Yan Xiangxi told the story to the emperor, which satisfied the emperor's desire for gossip.

After hearing this, the emperor thought to himself that this boy is really smart. It would be difficult to deal with it if the two families lived too far apart, so he gave up the idea of ​​giving Gu Zhao a house to enjoy, so he found a hot spring village and asked Gu Mu to give it to him. I sent it over without mentioning it openly, after all, I had just promoted this boy to an official position.

The emperor was surprised by the income from the glass business, not to mention other dignitaries in the capital. They were also consumers and knew the price of glass products. For example, installing glass windows would cost hundreds of taels of silver for many families, so it was possible You can imagine how profitable this shop is. Even if they look down on business people, the income makes them jealous.

So many people began to inquire about the owner behind this glass shop and wanted to get involved in the business, including the three Xiangs. If they could get this business in their hands, they would not need to work hard to get money.

As a result, they had just sent people to inquire, but before they even stretched out their paws, they all stopped immediately. Whose business was this? It was clearly a business being done by the imperial court. It was said that the people behind it were the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works. In the final analysis, it was still It didn't belong to the emperor, so everyone suddenly felt extremely complicated.

"I heard that it was a new thing created by the Ministry of Industry. It happened that the Minister of the Ministry of Finance heard about it. The Ministry of Finance had been short of money, so he insisted on getting involved. The two ministers even quarreled in front of His Majesty. In the end, Your Majesty made peace. Sir, both departments are involved. Of course, the final income will be returned to the treasury. It is said that the money will be used to pave roads, build bridges and repair dams." "No wonder

this shop can run smoothly. People in the capital only need to carry the money. It's been sent to the shop. How can it not make people jealous? It turns out that the backer is strong enough. Can someone interfere with His Majesty's business?" "The

person who made this glass is also very powerful. It's such a big deal. Have they all been given to the court?"

"I heard that it was Viscount Gu's contribution."

"No, I haven't heard anyone mention this Master Gu. If it is really his contribution, can your Majesty not reward him?" "

You know not ? Reward? I heard that it was not mentioned publicly, but secretly a hot spring village was given as a gift. The village covers a large area and has a large number of people. I heard that the clan was eyeing it, and I always wanted to get it from His Majesty, but the result was a failure. It's in the hands of Viscount Gu."

"Tsk, tsk, this Mr. Gu is really amazing. He has produced so many good things." "

Come and see, there are new and rare things in the glass shop." Someone ran in and shouted. stand up.

"But I can't stand it. How much money has been spent in that shop. Besides, I just need to buy some new accessories and decorative items." "Haha, that's

wrong. What's new this time is a glass mirror. Darling, that mirror It can illuminate people's every detail and make them shocked. A bronze mirror cannot be compared with this glass mirror."

"Real or fake?"

"Really, it's like a mirror looking into a demon, look at it. I will never regret it."

The glass is out, is the glass mirror still far away? The necessary materials are available in the workshop. This is the workshop of the Ministry of Industry of the Imperial Court. It is of course different from the private workshops outside. This time, Gu Zhao did it directly because he wanted to prevent the mirror from being accidentally taken out. The process was not easy. , so Gu Zhao directly found tinfoil and mercury, first put a piece of tinfoil on the glass, and then poured mercury on it. The mercury can dissolve the tin, and after dissolving, it will stick to the glass tightly, which becomes a mirror.

The first batch of mirrors made were naturally sent to the palace. The emperor was shocked when he looked at a glass mirror for the first time. Then those life-size mirrors were especially loved by the harem and princesses, and the bronze mirrors were immediately thrown aside by them. .

After satisfying the needs of the nobles in the palace, the second batch of glass mirrors was delivered to the shop, which naturally caused a sensation again. This time, there was no need to wait, the effect was immediate, and everyone who entered the shop would see the boss's full-length mirror. So those wealthy people, just like country people entering the city, ran to the mirror to look at the strange things.

The glass mirror shines much clearer than the bronze mirror, and the price is naturally not too low. However, after looking at the glass mirror, who can still accept the bronze mirror? No matter how high the asking price was, everyone couldn't wait to place an order in the shop, fearing that if it was too late, the mirror would be sold out and they would have to wait a long time to get it.

Installing glass windows is just like that. You can't install them immediately after placing an order and paying money. There are only so many workers. Naturally, those who place orders earlier will be at the front of the queue, while those who place orders late will have to wait.

Therefore, on the first day when the glass mirrors were put out, several full-length mirrors were ordered immediately. Those who arrived late regretted not folding them, because the manager in the shop said that the larger the mirror, the more difficult it is to make, so it will be difficult to make it later. Have to wait.

The person who bought the life-size mirror first posted a message to people he knew, inviting everyone to come and visit his mirror.

Therefore, there was no need to advertise at all, and glass mirrors became popular in the capital. Small mirrors as big as a palm were sold for several taels of silver, making people who were short of money even more jealous.

In fact, it is not impossible for the Ministry of Industry to rush to produce more life-size mirrors. Nowadays, the technology of firing glass is becoming more and more skilled. However, Gu Zhao said that things are rare and valuable, so they should release less to whet everyone's appetite. Moreover, those life-length mirrors were made extremely luxuriously, and the frames were decorated with gold and colorful paintings. They would be extremely valuable to future generations. The value of the frames far exceeded the mirror itself. Not only were such mirrors not rejected when they were released, they were sought after. As long as they are Only mirrors of high specifications and high quality can bring out the status of certain dignitaries.

Those powerful people held money and wanted the mirror, but Gu Zhao was not stingy with his own people. Viscount Pingnan's Mansion, the Gu family, the Li family, his two uncles, and the Southwest Princess all received the money from Gu Zhao There are mirrors, both big and small. Although they are not so exquisite and gorgeous, they are functional enough. In this way, the two Loei houses have made a comeback in the capital. Many people have posted to Loei House to visit the mirrors. .

Gu Zhao didn't overly cover up the mirrors he sent to these homes. After all, they were items for daily use. Such actions made the powerful people in the capital more and more certain that the emergence of glass and glass mirrors was really inseparable from Gu Zhao.

"What happened to this Gu Zijue's head? I think compared with his essays to take the imperial examination, his method of collecting money is the first. Look at the Ministry of Finance and those wealthy businessmen, who can compare with this guy? Gu Zijue? It seems that he didn't work hard before, otherwise he would have earned much wealth by now." "I'm sorry,

I heard that the Minister of the Ministry of Finance has been walking with wind recently, and he still looks like he was crying about poverty before. , and many roads inside and outside the capital have begun to be built. It is said that the money from selling glass is used." "

This is good. It avoids the need to withdraw money from the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the person who loses is probably Gu Zijue himself."

"Loss. Isn't that true? Viscount Gu lost money, but he gained the Sacred Heart. Not to mention the current His Majesty, but also in the future, no matter who comes to power, they will not be able to treat Viscount Gu badly. He has really made real achievements. "

The one I regret most is probably the Viscount Yu's Mansion. Tsk tsk, not only did I lose a Viscount, but I also lost a gold mountain." "You don't know, right? Something

happened at the Viscount Yu's Mansion."

"What happened?" ? Why didn't you hear any noise?"

"Haha, when the house is still a marquis' house, the news will come out if there is any movement? It's only because of Gu Zijue's relationship that people will talk about it. But unfortunately, this For a while, there was cement and glass, and this incident made few people pay attention to what happened in that house. Coming back to the topic, I heard that people were almost killed for putting usury in that house, and they were sued to Fengtian Mansion. Gone."

Everyone who heard this was shocked.

Chapter 272 Magnifying Glass

The affairs of Viscount Yu’s Mansion did not arouse much discussion. Although some people would take Viscount Yu’s Mansion with them because of Gu Zhao’s matter, everyone did not think that the matter of Viscount Yu’s Mansion had anything to do with Gu Zhao. Everything It's just his own fault. Gu Zhao didn't recognize his ancestor and return to the clan. After all, it's really not Gu Zhao's fault. Seeing how well he takes care of his adoptive parents and biological mother, who can blame him for the previous sentence?

Although Viscount Yu's Mansion was not deprived of its title due to the loan sharking incident, the vitality of Viscount Yu's Mansion was once again damaged after the last demotion. The entire Viscount Mansion became more and more in decline. It cut off a way to make money and lost a lot of money. Viscount Mansion They had to live a tight diet and reduce their ostentation, and there was not so much money for them to squander. At this time, Mrs. Yu was willing to lower the conditions and marry a daughter-in-law for her son. The only requirement was to bring more dowry, but now Even ordinary wealthy businessmen don't look down on the Yu Mansion.

These businessmen were even better at understanding the situation. They didn’t realize that Viscount Yu was so badly hit this time. Viscount Gu didn’t even ask. He completely regarded this man as a stranger. No, maybe not even a stranger. They really wanted to marry their daughter into the house. , isn’t it necessary to make enemies with Gu Zijue? Now that Gu Zhao has fully demonstrated his ability to attract wealth, it is even more important to these businessmen. It is too late to be flattered and they can’t think about it before they want to make enemies.

This incident only made a small splash in the entire capital, and it soon sank. Gu Zhao was very busy and didn't even get the slightest news. Of course, even if he knew, he would only gloat about it, and then turn around and leave it behind. The back of the head.

Only Uncle Li paid attention to the whole matter, and hid his merits and fame, because he was behind the scenes. The result was a bit different from what he expected, because the Yu family was not deprived of the title, but later he thought deeply about it. Fan, maybe he was not deposed by His Majesty because of Gu Zhao's face. Regardless of whether Hui Zhao and Li Jiacheng admit it or not, the man named Yu is Gu Zhao's biological father. Anyway, the man named Yu doesn't even have a job now. , the court had a large amount of revenue, and it was not affordable to support such a viscount, so he put it aside to dry.

Glass and mirrors are rare items that rich people watch and rob. For the common people, they can only watch around. They are more talking about the laying of cement roads inside and outside the capital. Because the court is rich, there is no free labor this time. Instead, they recruited people with wages. The wages were not low, and food was provided. In addition, the construction period was long, so it attracted the attention of many people.

At first, the people were worried. The propaganda sounded good, but the actual wages they received were not that much, and officials were withholding them layer by layer. So at first, only those who were too poor to earn much money went to work, but when the tenth day came, After the wages were paid and sent home, more and more people signed up. In the villages outside the capital, most of the young adults left, and everyone was in high spirits.

In several of the villages, many women in the village went to work in Ruyi workshops, and the monthly wages they took home were more than men. Although the family situation improved, it was a big threat to the men in the family. The women's backs were hardened, and the men The right to speak at home has been affected, and some women have even started to divorce.

Now, it's their turn to have a chance to work. Although they are a little tired and a little bitter, the good news is that the wages they take home are not small, and they can save food at home, so they all work hard.

"This time, no official deducted our wages. As long as we complete the assigned tasks, the promised wages will be paid to us. If we complete it quickly and well, there will be rewards." "You don't know,

this time However, there are officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works keeping an eye on them, and Mr. Gu Zijue, who discovered that the first cement road was built with cement, will often come to our construction site. In addition to being concerned about the construction of cement roads, Mr. Gu is also concerned about the construction of cement roads. I am concerned about the situation of our workers. Master Gu is someone who can directly face the situation. Who among the people below would dare to do small tricks to deduct our wages? That is something that will make you lose your head." "That's great,

Master Gu is such a good person."

Gu Zhao will come to the construction site to be responsible for the technical issues of cement road construction and to supervise quality issues at the same time. He must not make rough work, cut corners, reduce the service life of the road, and waste money needlessly. This is not the way to use money. Gu Zhao's requirements are very Strictly, after catching a few wrongdoers and punishing several groups of people, no one dares to be clever anymore. Master Gu has a sharp eye.

In addition to the construction site, Gu Zhao will continue to work on other glass products in the workshop. There are many derivative products, such as concave and convex mirrors, glasses, and microscopes. Now that he has done it, Gu Zhao will try his best to make it while he is still here. It is possible to produce more of these derivatives, and latecomers will also have directions to find.

On this day, Gu Zhao sent another good thing to the palace, saying that it was specially made for His Majesty. When the exquisite box was presented to the emperor, the emperor's expectations were very high, thinking that after cement and glass, Gu Zhao had made another good thing. Good stuff.

If Gu Zhao knew the emperor's mentality, he would roll his eyes. The reason why he was able to come up with these things so quickly was not only the memory of future generations he had, but also thanks to the books and materials in his personal space for reference. Otherwise, it would be difficult to achieve. It will grow tenfold or a hundredfold, and no matter how fast it is, you can’t just swallow it all, you have to do it carefully and carefully.

The eunuch who was close to him diligently opened the box for the emperor, and also said a lot of good things for Gu Zijue, because he knew that this was what the emperor liked to hear. He was good at doing things and making money. There were few civil and military officials in the dynasty who could compare with Gu Zijue. of?

As soon as I opened it, I saw a piece of glass, wrapped in a wooden frame, and a handle.

Seeing the stunned expression on the eunuch's face, the emperor also looked over and was a little surprised. He stretched out his hand to take something out of the box and turned it around a few times in his hand: "What is this? Gu Aiqing put such a piece of What do you mean by giving me the glass?"

"Your Majesty, there is a note below. Come and take a look." The eunuch who

was close to him picked up the note underneath and saw that it was just a few lines of words. After realizing the purpose of this thing, the eunuch exclaimed: "Your Majesty, I know what this thing is. Gu Zijue said it is a magnifying glass, which can enlarge words a lot." "Magnifying glass? How to use it?" "Your Majesty, old slave,

come here

Try it."

After knowing the use, the close eunuch was no longer disappointed, but took the initiative to test it with great interest, so he pointed the piece of glass on the magnifying glass at the writing on the booklet, ah, has it become smaller? Thinking of the explanation, I quickly turned over and saw that the handwriting was indeed enlarged a lot, and it also became larger and smaller as I zoomed in and out.

"Your Majesty, you can really zoom in."

"You old guy, come and see for me." "

Ah, you can really zoom in. Ah, the farther away you are, the bigger the characters will be. But if you are too far away, you can really zoom in." The handwriting is blurred."

"If you look at it this way, the handwriting will shrink. This is a magnifying glass."

The master and the slave were having fun in the palace. This was what Yao Shoufu saw when he came in. The emperor was playing with a piece of glass like a child. When the emperor saw Yao Shoufu coming, he beckoned him to come over and play with him, so many people were frightened. Then after Yao Shoufu left the palace, he went to find Gu Zhao, hoping to get him from Gu Zhao I also ordered a magnifying glass here. This thing is great. He is getting older and it is actually a little difficult for him to see things. Having this thing called a magnifying glass will not have much impact.

Yao Shoufu didn't know that his condition was called presbyopia, and Gu Zhao was thinking about myopia glasses and presbyopia glasses.

When the cabinet was handling government affairs in the palace the next day, Yao Chief Fu happily took out a magnifying glass and used it to read the brochure, which aroused the curiosity and onlookers of other ministers. As a result, it was incredible. Looking from the side of the glass, the words on the brochure were so Big, Yao Shoufu is not the only one with presbyopia. If it weren't for Yao Shoufu's identity, everyone else would want to snatch this thing away and use it.

After showing off for a while, Yao Shoufu said proudly: "I saw this good thing at Your Majesty's place yesterday. I knew it was made by Gu Zijue, so I went for a walk in Gu Zijue's field." "What?

" Come on, come on, hurry up, go to Mr. Gu and ask for something like this for us."

"Magnifying glass, Zijue Gu calls it a magnifying glass, and it lives up to its name."

"Yes, just this magnifying glass, go quickly."

So that day, the cabinet ministers each had a magnifying glass in their hands, and the emperor burst into laughter when he saw it.

Yao Shoufu was the most proud. He still had something hidden in his heart that he had not revealed to anyone else. He found Gu Zhao and chatted with him for a long time yesterday. He knew that Gu Zhao was trying to make something called glasses that could solve the problem for some people. Short-sightedness and presbyopia, Yao Shoufu applauded after hearing this. He was willing to cooperate with Gu Zhao. After the reading glasses were developed, he was willing to be Gu Zhao's first test subject.

Short-sightedness means short-sightedness and blurred vision. It is not a description of people, but is just a description of the presbyopia of older people, making things blurry.

Yao Shoufu was used as a test subject for presbyopia, and Gu Zhao specially found a scholar with myopia. Nowadays, there are not as many people suffering from myopia as in later generations. Most ordinary people cannot even read, and there is no problem of myopia caused by excessive use of eyes. However, This situation still exists among scholars, especially those who read a lot by dim candlelight at night, which can easily lead to myopia.

The scholar Gu Zhao found had a lot of headaches because of his short-sightedness. He also spent money to see a doctor, but it had no effect at all. He was so short-sighted that he even turned a blind eye to acquaintances greeting him from a distance. , initially caused a lot of misunderstandings. Others thought he had too high a vision and looked down on others, but they didn't know his sufferings.

Because Gu Zhao said there was a way to solve his short-sighted problem, the scholar came to cooperate with Gu Zhao without saying a word. Who is Gu Zhao? That was the person who made cement and glass. There was no need to lie to him. Maybe Master Gu could really cure his short-sightedness.

"How?" Gu Zhao asked, pointing to the paper hanging on the wall.

Chapter 273 Wearing Glasses

What is hanging on the wall is, of course, an eye chart that Gu Zhao brought directly from later generations to correct the vision of myopic people.

Starting from the top line, the scholar named Xu Songquan in front of him could see all the way down to the third line from the bottom with the help of his lenses. Without the lenses, Xu Songquan could even see the big words in the first line blurred. Very soon, he was able to see clearly again. Xu Songquan was so happy that he burst into tears. This was not easy. People without short-sightedness could not understand his pain.

Both Gu Zhao and Gu Zhao had good eyesight, but he could also understand the pain of myopia, especially in ancient times when glasses had not yet come out. He comforted him: "After the glasses are fitted, your vision will return to normal, but this will It does not mean that you can use your eyes unscrupulously in the future. You must pay more attention to protecting your eyes to prevent myopia from worsening."

Xu Songquan nodded repeatedly. After suffering enough, he would not dare to be careless again: "Students must remember the instructions of adults. "

The next day, Xu Songquan got the glasses that had been polished by Gu Zhaohe and the craftsmen. The frames were a little rough and could not be compared with later generations. In order to fix the lenses in place, Gu Zhao and the craftsmen thought a lot of ideas. After Songquan got the glasses, he put them on directly and walked out of the Ministry of Industry.

The second person who came over was Yao Shoufu as promised in advance. Yao Shoufu also got his pair of reading glasses as he wished. He was very proud and took the glasses to the palace to show off that day. The emperor was still surprised. Then I listened to Yao Shoufu detailing what he had seen and heard from Gu Zhao. With such a frame and lenses, Gu Zhao could cure short-sightedness and presbyopia.

"Can even short-sightedness be solved?"

"Seriously, Mr. Gu's thinking is clever, which can benefit many scholars." "Just

lend me a favor."

"It's not easy to borrow, Mr. Gu said, this is based on the opinions of various scholars. People's glasses should not be mixed, otherwise they will not do much good for the eyes, but will cause harm. Mr. Gu has an eye chart. I look at it very interesting. With that eye chart, you can measure the degree of short-sightedness. , Oh, by the way, Mr. Gu is called myopia." Mr. Yao was very proud, but he would not borrow it. This is his treasure. Anyone who wants to go to Mr. Gu by himself deserves it.

So what are you waiting for? The cabinet ministers who felt that their eyes were a little dizzy all went to Gu Zhao to get reading glasses. On the other side, Xu Songquan also made a big splash, and the things he wore on his face were already disappointing. People looked curious, so he waved and called an acquaintance from a long distance away, but the person was shocked. It turned out that Xu Songquan couldn't see anyone else at this distance, so he had to walk very close to make a sound. Only Songquan could react.

"Why did you see me? Why are you wearing such a weird thing on your face? It's so ugly."

The friend said and wanted to take it off for Xu Songquan. Xu Songquan was so frightened that he quickly backed away and stretched out his hands to protect his glasses: "No, these are called glasses. I can see clearly only by wearing these glasses. Master Gu Zhaogu personally provided them for me." "

There is such a good thing?"

"Seriously."

Although Xu Songquan wears After getting glasses, several old cabinet ministers also got a pair of reading glasses, but not many people knew the inside story. For this reason, Gu Zhao specially wrote a second article for the Beijing News. Well, the first article was As an advertisement for Ruyi Workshop and the Ministry of Industry, in this second article, he also discussed with several imperial doctors about shortsightedness and other eye diseases, trying to make this article more accurate.

When this article was submitted to the Beijing News, Song Ze and others saw that it was still following the style of the previous article, which could not show Tanhualang's literary talent at all. However, they could do nothing but publish it for him. Obviously, this article was for Some people solve the problem. These people came all the way to the imperial examination. In fact, they encountered many people suffering from short-sightedness, and even more presbyopia. Otherwise, where would the term "presbyopia" come from.

When a new issue of the newspaper is released, an additional entrance is opened next to the glass shop for people to enter and exit. Inside is the place where glasses are prepared for patients.

Tanhua Lang has published another article. This one is just a gimmick. Both the dignitaries and the common people have shown great interest in it. When reading the newspaper, the common people will stop listening to anything else once they hear about Tanhua Lang's article. , let people who read the newspaper quickly read Tan Hwa Lang’s article first. They just want to hear Tan Hwa Lang’s article.

"Gu Zhao's article? He published an article in the Beijing News again? I heard that Mr. Gu is very busy and still has time to write an article? Let me see what he wrote this time." This is what he wanted to say. Those who want to find fault with Gu Zhao's literary talent seem to be able to overpower Gu Zhao by stepping down on him.

"Gu Zhao's article? Bring it to me quickly. This guy can make a lot of noise every time. Let's see what it is this time." He maintained great interest.

Even the unmarried young man and the ladies in his boudoir showed great interest and specially asked people to buy newspapers from outside, and then gathered together to read and discuss the newspapers. Gu Zhao alone could drive a lot of sales for the Beijing News. .

As a result, Gu Zhao's article greatly exceeded their expectations. Does it treat eye diseases? When will Gu Zhao see a doctor? Is this eye disease so good-looking?

"There is also an address at the back of the article. Isn't it the glass shop? Go and take a look and you will know what is going on."

So as soon as the new issue of the Beijing News came out, many people came to the glass shop to join in the fun. Gu Zhao had already A lot of people were arranged to maintain order, and people's eyesight was checked and glasses were provided in public. Xu Songquan also came specially to support Mr. Gu.

At first, some people couldn't believe that these glasses could cure eye diseases, but after seeing Xu Songquan's demonstration, the first person finally had the courage to test his eyesight and get glasses. The people started to scream. After putting it on, they could really see clearly. It was very clear that Master Gu had not lied to them.

"Of course Mr. Gu won't lie to us. Is this necessary?"

"Mr. Gu, how much is this pair of glasses?"

"The frame you chose is the cheapest, half a tael of silver in total."

"So cheap? "Compared to the price of glass products and the mirror, these half-a-tael glasses are so cheap that people can't believe it.

"The main purpose is to collect some labor fees to maintain daily expenses. The Ministry of Industry launches these glasses not to make a profit, but mainly to solve problems for everyone. I hope people who wear glasses can spread the word more and let more people know the benefits of glasses. ."

"Yes, Sir Gu Renyi."

For several days in a row, people from all over the capital went to the optical shop to watch the excitement. It was so rare, and there were many people wearing glasses. Half a tael of silver was really not much. Finally, Even people with good eyesight came to join in the fun. Gu Zhao had to get a pair of plain glasses, thinking that this was a self-taught way to follow the trend. It's a pity that we don't have the craftsmanship and technology to make sunglasses now, otherwise they would be cooler. .

More than ten days later, Yan Xiangjin and Mr. Ding were sitting in the glass-paved teahouse opposite. They could still see a long queue outside the shop opposite. There was no charge for reading the eye chart, so many people were looking for it. They came to join in the fun, and when mentioning Gu Zhao, there was no one without praise for Viscount Gu. Even in the teahouse where they were, teagoers were also talking about Viscount Gu's benevolence and righteousness.

A small glass mirror as big as the palm of your hand costs several taels of silver, but glasses with two glass lenses only cost half a tael. Who knows that Gu Zhao has no intention of making money from the glasses, just to make money People with eye problems can wear glasses.

Yan Xiangjin was extremely depressed when he saw and heard this, and he looked like he was breaking a jar: "What else can this guy come up with? Is it over yet?"

Yan Xiangjin was depressed, and Master Ding was even more regretful. His intestines were green. If he could have condescended to personally contact Gu Zhao to show his goodwill to him, Gu Zhao, who was still in his weak years at that time, would definitely make him a confidant. Now, all this is not for nothing. Mr. Jin added the results.

He also wanted to say something, how could this bastard Gu Zhao be so tormented?

"Master Ding should take the initiative to ask Ying to be responsible for the construction of the dam in the south." Master Ding suggested.

"Doesn't that mean we have to stay away from the capital?" Yan Xiangjin has not considered it. If this thing is done, it will definitely have a reputation, instead of being taken over by Yan Xiangxi and Gu Zhao like now, but he is worried that people are not in the capital, and even more It is difficult to control the situation in Beijing.

Mr. Ding's voice was very low: "According to my father's wishes, Your Majesty's health has not been as good as the past two years...Young Master still has time, and if something happens to the princess in the capital when she gives birth, how can you be with the Young Master who is far away from the capital?" What does it have to do with it?"

Yan Xiangjin thought about it and said, "I'm afraid that your Majesty may not agree." "The

princess's pregnancy is a good opportunity for the young master. Otherwise, I'm afraid that your majesty will still give the opportunity to the princess. It may not be possible to send others there at this time. To control the situation, we need someone with sufficient status, and the young master is just right. Your Majesty will not agree to it when the time comes."

Yan Xiangjin thought about it again and again, and decided to give it a try. Moreover, he has a foundation in Jiangnan, so he will do it better than others. Calmly, as long as this matter is done well, if His Majesty objects again, other ministers will favor him. He does not believe that Your Majesty can ignore the opinions of the courtiers and the clan.

The emperor had just watched the excitement for a few days. His presbyopia was not very serious, but he also joined in the fun and got a pair of reading glasses. Of course, someone from the Ministry of Industry came to the palace to buy them for the emperor. But in the past two days, there was another commotion in the court. The emperor I feel like I have a headache again. Why don't these guys feel comfortable with Gu Zhaolai? They just create trouble for him.

The cement workshop has been built and produced in the south of the Yangtze River. Who will be responsible for it? The emperor really can't rest assured. In the past two days, the ministers of the three ministers in the court mentioned it, and each of them had supporters, but they did not participate. The ministers who stood in line also felt that they should send someone with sufficient status to suppress the demons and monsters in Jiangnan.

If there is a prince, of course the prince is more suitable, but there is no prince now. The princess is not only a woman, but also pregnant. Even the emperor would not dare to let the princess out without telling them.

Yan Xiangxi was also at the court meeting with a bulging belly, but she was given a seat by the emperor. She was stroking her belly while listening to the arguments of the courtiers. At this time, the emperor saw that his daughter was too leisurely, and asked abruptly: "What do you think of Yongfu?" What's this about?"

Chapter 274 Heading to Jiangnan

The three Xiangzi seniors and their supporters were dumbfounded and asked the princess? The princess is on the opposite side of them. Is it possible to choose this suitable candidate from the three of them?

Yan Xiangxi smiled. In fact, if she could, she really wanted to go there in person, but she also knew that she couldn't make fun of her body and the child in her belly. It was a pity and at the same time she didn't worry about those three. Those three were only worried about their energy in the past. They should focus more on winning over Jiangnan officials instead of sincerely building strong dams.

She was worried about what these three people were doing. They were all too selfish, so Yan Xiangxi suggested: "Father, when it comes to building dams, no one is better than Gu Zijue. In my opinion, this matter How about leaving it to Viscount Gu and then Viscount Pingnan to take care of his safety? What does the emperor think?"

What? None of the three Xiang characters were chosen, but Gu Zhao and Gu Mu, who were obviously on her side? What is the difference between this and the princess going there in person?

The three supporters of Xiang Ziyi, who had just been facing each other tit for tat, turned around and were about to speak in unison, but the emperor suddenly shouted: "Well said, Yong Fu's words are reasonable. Regarding the matter of pouring concrete for the embankment, it was Gu Zhao. Gu Aiqing suggested that it would be more appropriate for him to be responsible for this matter. Then pass on my instructions and ask Gu Aiqing and Viscount Pingnan to leave for Jiangnan quickly." "

Your Majesty, please think twice."

"I have thought enough, and I will give Gu Aiqing another favor. Sign, see the sign as you see me, do

whatever is convenient for the Gu Qing family. Retreat from the court." Gu Zhao, who finally had some leisure time and was drinking tea and chatting with others in the office of the Ministry of Industry, suddenly saw the eunuch from the palace coming over. With a bright yellow imperial edict, Gu Zhao suddenly had a bad feeling. It was impossible for him to be promoted to a noble rank, because he had been promoted not long ago, and there was no way to promote him again. What is it?

"Master Gu Zhao, please accept the order!"

Other officials followed suit and received the order. After the imperial edict was recited, Gu, like the ministers at the court meeting, was a little dumbfounded. At the eunuch's prompting, he took the imperial edict blankly, and the eunuch who delivered the order smiled. Said: "Congratulations to Zijue Gu. Your Majesty loves Mr. Gu and specially gave Mr. Gu the status of imperial envoy. In addition, seeing the sign is like seeing the sign of a holy driver. Mr. Gu can completely let go and do things when he arrives in Jiangnan. Mr. Gu, Our family still has to deliver the decree to Viscount Pingnan."

"Go slowly, I won't send you off."

Gu Zhao smiled bitterly, his authority was large enough, but this errand was really difficult to handle. In comparison, he would really rather stay here In a stuffy and hot workshop, working with craftsmen on new things would make interpersonal relationships much simpler, but is Jiangnan a good place?

The only thing he was happy about was that Mu Mu went with him, and by the way, his second uncle was right next door to Jiangnan. If it didn't work out, he could go with Mu Mu to ask his second uncle for help.

"Congratulations to Mr. Gu." Officials from the Ministry of Industry said to Gu Zhao one after another.

Gu Zhao returned the gifts one by one without showing an overly sad look on his face. The emperor valued him and gave him this responsibility, so how could he show displeasure.

Gu Mu accepted the order because he was really happy to have the opportunity to work with his brother. Although this matter was a bit tricky, with him protecting his brother, who would dare to cause trouble?

So Gu Mu left early after receiving the imperial edict and went to the Ministry of Works to find his brother.

Just like the Hanlin Academy, the officials of the Ministry of Industry were also very familiar with the appearance of Gu Mu, Viscount Pingnan, and knew that this person was not a bad-tempered person who was not easy to talk to. Although he was favored by the Holy Spirit, his life experience It also makes people sympathize. Why do you enter the court and work hard at a young age? It wasn't because his biological father didn't protect him. He had escaped to the capital with injuries. If he had continued to stay in the southwest, his life might have been taken care of a long time ago.

I didn’t expect that Princess Southwest’s body was still in severe loss after being raised to this day, and she didn’t move around the capital much.

It can be said that with this mother and son now staying in the capital, most officials in the capital have the least favorable impression of the Southwest King.

"Brother, let's go to Jiangnan together. How long does it take for brother to prepare for the departure?"

Gu Zhao also laughed when he saw Gu Mu. Having Gu Mu follow him to Jiangnan reassured him more than anyone else. I have to say that the princess's The arrangement suited him well: "I need to prepare some materials, and I will set off as soon as they are complete."

"Okay, I will also choose some people to go with us."

These two decrees have been spread in the capital, and the people think this is very good. Compared with other officials, in the eyes of the people, Mr. Gu can really do practical things. Entrusting him to him can make the people rest assured that they will be able to build a strong dam that will not collapse when flooded.

The dignitaries in the capital felt very sad. Gu Zhao was so favored. His Majesty dared to leave such a big matter to Gu Zhao. Aren't you afraid that he would mess up the matter?

"Princess Yongfu made the proposal, and Your Majesty agreed without much thought. It seems that Viscount Gu is really close to Princess Yongfu." "Viscount Pingnan

is originally on the princess's side, and he relies on Viscount Gu Zhao and Pingnan. Relationship, isn't it normal for Gu Zhao to side with Princess Yongfu?"

"Isn't he afraid that everything will come to nothing in the end? When the new emperor comes to power, Gu Zijue is afraid that he will be liquidated and his great future will be ruined." This is not optimistic about the princess' successor at all. In the eyes of these people, Gu Zhao's choice to stand behind the princess was the stupidest behavior and would bring shame to the scholar.

"How could it be? With Gu Zhaoli's contribution, no matter who is in charge, he will not be treated too badly, let alone the liquidation."

This is even more sour to say. There was cowpox vaccination in the past. Wherever vaccination is done seriously, up to now There has been no smallpox epidemic again. This is definitely not a coincidence. Then there was cement. Looking at the continuous paving of cement roads inside and outside the capital, who can say that this is not good?

"You said cement can build a dam, but it really can? Don't even end up being washed away by the flood. That would be fun." Before

Gu Zhao returned home, everyone in the family knew about it, and they hurried to the dam one by one. It's not like Gu Zhao has never been to Jiangnan before, but this time it's different. Even if they don't have a keen political sense, they will know that building dams is not an easy job. They don't know how long it will take to get back, and they spend the whole day in They were busy at the construction site and were worried about whether they would be well-dressed or not well-fed. How could they not worry?

Old Mrs. Gu said worriedly: "I have to go back and get more food for Zhao'er to bring over. Zhao'er likes the dried meat I made, so I'll make more for Zhao'er this time." "I'll pack more clothes for him and bring him out

. Let's ask more people to make some in a hurry. I'm afraid I won't have enough clothes to wear after going to Jiangnan. I'm afraid I won't be able to come back at the end of the year. I even have to bring cotton-padded clothes with me."

The two mothers couldn't stop worrying, and they broke up as soon as they got home. The head was busy, and the servants were also kept busy by them.

Gu Zhao was also busy himself. Although he had read some books on water conservancy, he was not proficient in it. So while looking up the information, he consulted officials who were specialized and good at it. These officials from the Ministry of Industry did not hesitate to give him advice and summarized their past experiences Tell him, because they can also see that Gu Zhao is sincere in doing things, and hope that he can build those dams stronger after he passes.

Gu Zhao also recommended several people who were good at water conservancy to him, and took them to the south of the Yangtze River. He was busy for four or five days. On the fifth day, he entered the palace to meet the emperor, and then set off with Gu Mu. Jiangnan.

The scene of their group setting off was seen by many people in the capital. Because the scene was not small, not to mention the personnel accompanying Gu Zhao, Gu Mu alone ordered 300 guards to follow, and the team of more than 300 people was huge. Dangdang left the capital and rushed to the south of the Yangtze River.

Yan Xiangxi also watched the team leave from a teahouse. The consort Ning Yang stood guard carefully. Yan Xiangxi sighed: "I hope their journey goes well." Ning Yang

felt very good about Gu Mu and Gu Zhao. , also admired Gu Zhao very much, and said: "Master Gu is so powerful, he will definitely be able to run errands for the public."

Having said that, Yan Xiangxi also knew that Gu Zhao and Gu Mu were relatively junior after all, and the officialdom in Jiangnan was very complicated. If she was not careful, she might capsize. When she went on patrol, she deliberately avoided the area in Jiangnan, but others , neither she nor her father can be completely relieved.

Yan Xiangjin was also watching from another place. In his opinion, Gu Zhao and Gu Mu were too arrogant. Who would have thought that the opportunity they thought they had to capture would actually fall on these two guys. In his opinion, Now, compared to Yan Xiangxiao and Yan Xiangqi, he is the first choice and the best candidate because he is more capable.

But such a great opportunity slipped away from his hands. There was anger in his eyes, directed at Gu Zhao, Gu Mu, and Yan Xiangxi. Isn't it just because she is the emperor's biological daughter that the emperor does everything? I tend to lean towards her. The older I get, the more confused I become. What can a woman accomplish?

Yan Xiangjin's heart was ready to move. Since he was so confused, why not let someone else sit in that seat.

"Princess, before the master leaves, please ask me to deliver this letter to the princess." Just as Yan Xiangxi was about to leave, a follower beside Gu Mu hurried over and took out a letter and handed it to Yan Xiangxi.

Yan Xiangxi asked strangely: "Then why didn't the boy give it to me personally, and specifically asked you to deliver it?"

"I don't know, but the master specially told me to see this letter delivered to the princess in person. ."

It seems that this letter is very important. Yan Xiangxi nodded: "I have received it. You can go back." "

Yes, princess."

Yan Xiangxi did not rush to open it and read it, but returned to the palace first. , the prince-in-law also left very considerately. He only needed to take good care of the princess. He was not responsible for other things. He would not cross the line. He was lucky enough to be by the princess's side, not to mention that the princess was still pregnant with them. Ning Yang's eyebrows rose when he thought of his unborn child.

Yan Xiangxi opened Gu Mu's letter, his face became more solemn, and finally asked him to light a brazier, threw the letter into the brazier, and watched the letter burn to ashes.

"I didn't expect this guy to find out so many things quietly. Fortunately, this guy noticed it early, otherwise... I, my father, and my child might really be in trouble." It was she who underestimated Yan Xiang. Jin, and the emperor's uncle standing behind Yan Xiangjin.

Chapter 275 The calculations of wealthy businessmen

I went to Jiangnan, and I didn’t know when I could come back. According to the temperament of the old lady and Li, I wanted to pack a few carts of things for Gu Zhao and Gu Mu. Fortunately, I was persuaded by Gu Yao, who had been sending people to Jiangnan and further south purchase fruits to make canned fruits, so they can send things to Gu Zhao regularly. It is better to travel in a light car now.

Even so, when Gu Zhao and Gu Mu set off on the road, the two of them had a large cart full of luggage, including the Southwest Princess' luggage for Gu Mu to pack.

On the way, Gu Zhao took out the dried meat made by his mother and shared it with everyone. The weather in the south was hot and humid, so he didn't know how long the dried meat could be stored, so it was better to eat it as soon as possible.

Gu Zhao rode with everyone most of the time, and only occasionally got into the carriage to rest. He did not hinder everyone at all. This also made the guards who came to protect Gu Zhao have a good impression of him, especially after he ate Gu Zhao. Where's the Viscount's jerky?

After Gu Zhao got into the carriage, Gu Mu also got in. The guards around him winked at each other. They were completely different in front of Gu Zijue, as if he was a different person.

Naturally, Shi Dingshan and Mao Jiangtao followed him. How could they rest assured of the young master's safety if they didn't follow him in person for such a big matter? They got involved with these people within two days of setting off on the road.

Everyone praised Gu Zhao: "I didn't expect that Mr. Gu, a civil servant, has such good physical strength and can follow us on such a long journey. The time it takes us to reach Jiangnan will be shortened a lot." Shi Mao and others were proud, and Shi Dingshan said:

" Although our young master is a scholar, his physical strength and skills are not bad. I think when I was on my way to the exam, I personally shot and killed several bandits, and finally captured them and sent them to the official." Mao Jiangtao followed closely: "

That is, even though our young master is now an official, as long as he is not too busy, he will insist on morning exercises every day. Of course, our young master’s most powerful skill is archery, which is really a perfect shot." "

Seriously?"

"What do you think? The problem is that the poisonous woman in the house bribed people to deal with Mr. Gu. I think Mr. Gu must have some skills, otherwise he would not be able to escape from the poisonous woman." The grudge between

Gu Zhao and the Yongning Hou Mansion has long been known throughout the capital. They are familiar with it, and of course these guards have heard of it. Thinking about it this way, I feel that Shi Mao and the two are not exaggerating.

In the carriage, Gu Zhao and Gu Mu were also talking. Gu Zhao did not expect that he would go to Jiangnan so soon, but since he had accepted this job, he would not avoid it and was not afraid of challenges. He had to hurry up and read the information while he was on the road. Supplement knowledge.

"I'm a little worried that I won't be able to carry out my work smoothly when I get to Jiangnan. Although I'm just building cement dams, the water inside is deep." It doesn't seem to have much to do with Jiangnan officialdom, but it is inseparable.

Just seeing that the imperial court allocates funds to flood-prone areas every year to strengthen dikes and dams, but floods still occur every year, we can deduce whether the money allocated is really implemented. If all these funds are really used to control floods , it’s not like he has to complain every year. As soon as the work starts, he will be able to see clearly what kind of dam those people built before. If everything is revealed to its original shape, can those officials still sit still?

Maybe those guys are thinking of ways to stop him now, otherwise why would the emperor give him such a sign that he sees it like a holy driver, so that he can do things easily. In fact, the emperor also knows it well, and he is just colluding up and down, and he wants to investigate thoroughly. no way.

"Brother, don't worry. I originally arranged for manpower to investigate the affairs in Jiangnan's officialdom. When His Majesty decided to send brother here this time, I sent additional manpower. I won't let them ruin my brother's affairs. I just have to fix it. The embankment is done, the rest is my business." Gu Mu reassured Gu Zhao.

Gu Zhao was surprised: "Have you made arrangements a long time ago? No, my work this time is only superficial. Your affairs are the top priority. I said I sent you here to protect you, but in fact it was to cover up. What are your actions? Are your majesty and the princess planning to disturb the Jiangnan officialdom?"

Gu Mu rested his head on Gu Zhao's shoulder. It was obvious that he was taller than Gu Zhao now. To do such an action, he still had to curl up. Outsiders were watching. Like a big dog curling up next to Gu Zhao: "I didn't want to move so quickly because they didn't expect that my brother would come up with something like cement, so this time they used my brother's affairs to explore the water." How deep it is depends on whether it is suitable for action, so whether to move or not depends on the actual situation on the ground. Brother, I will proceed with caution."

Even if he wants to make meritorious deeds, he will never put his brother in danger. Who Everyone knows about the relationship between him and his brother. What should he do when his brother is attacked? My brother's safety is more important than his life.

If his brother hadn't been here, he would have turned Jiangnan's officialdom upside down.

Gu Zhao touched Gu Mu's head: "Mu Mu is getting more and more powerful now. I believe Mu Mu will cooperate with you." I think

that when Mu Mu first came to him, he was still a person who didn't remember his identity and held everything in his arms. The vigilant little beast has grown up rapidly since returning to the capital, and has grown to be able to stand alone. But in Gu Zhao's memory, whether it was then or now, or even in the future, Mu Mu is still the one who has everything to him. The trustworthy wood, the little beast that was wary of the surroundings at first, let go of its thorns in front of him.

Gu Mu felt warm in his heart and shared with Gu Zhao in a low voice the situation of Jiangnan officialdom, who belonged to which faction, and what kind of involvement the wealthy businessmen had with officials. This was far deeper than what Gu Zhao knew. , the relationship between the big salt merchants and officials in Jiangnan is even more intricate.

Gu Zhao had long known about the collusion between officials and businessmen. Not only was Qiao Huan's mother's sister married to the magistrate of Jiangnan, but there were also countless women in the backyards of those officials who were sent by salt merchants.

At the end of the sentence, Gu Mu laughed again: "Although my brother hasn't arrived in Jiangnan yet, there must be many wealthy businessmen there who are looking forward to my brother's arrival and want to have good relations with you, the God of Wealth."

"God of Wealth?" Gu Mu said. Zhao laughed.

"Yes, the God of Wealth, or the Midas Touch. My brother doesn't know how many people are following those glass products and glass mirrors when they are sent to Jiangnan. They all know that these things come from my brother's hands. See what he has made over the years. There are so many good things that make money, and those people are greedy for them." Gu Mu boasted. According to him, there is no one in the entire Zhou Dynasty who is better at collecting money than Gu Zhao. I don’t know how many tricks people in Jiangnan will come up with to win over his brother. .

Gu Zhao was ashamed: "Aren't cement and glass the things of the imperial court? It's useless for them to win over me. Can they still snatch things back from the imperial court?" "I wonder what my brother will do next time

. It's a good thing to make money."

Gu Zhao shook his head speechlessly.

As Gu Mu said, knowing that Gu Zhao was going to Jiangnan, many wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan were looking forward to his arrival. When Gu Zhao came to Jiangnan to study at Wensi Academy, they did not pay much attention to Gu Viscount, but they waited until he entered the capital to enter the officialdom. Finally, what they found shocked them. Many people beat their chests and regretted that they had not established a good relationship with this Gu Zijue. Otherwise, the glass products and glass mirrors would leak out from between their fingers. It’s enough for them to earn a lot, so they can’t miss it this time.

Look at the Qiao family. Just because Qiao Huan and Gu Zhao were close at first, Gu Zhao later handed over the sales of his soap in Jiangnan to the Qiao family's agent, which made the status of the Qiao family and Qiao Huan in Jiangnan rise. Now this Because of his relationship with Gu Zhao, Master Qiao is always looked down upon when he goes out. He is still the playboy who was looked down upon by others before.

These people used all their magical powers to find out what Viscount Gu Zhao was like. Don’t underestimate their ability. They couldn’t hide the news from the capital. But after trying their best, they found that they didn’t know what to say to Gu Zhao. What's good is that they don't know where to start.

Call him greedy for money. He was trying to make money even before he left Qinghe County. Later, he even made a lot of money from the new product soap. But later, he didn't ask for a penny from the cement and glass, and gave them all to the court. , although there are rewards from the court, they are simply incomparable to the profits. If it were them, they would not have the courage to hand over all the things, so can we say that he is greedy for money?

Besides, even if they are greedy for money, the money they send may not be as much as Gu Zhao earns himself, so can Gu Zhao value the money in their hands?

Money and sex have always been the only two magic weapons in the hands of these wealthy businessmen. Many officials have fallen into this trap. Money is useless, but what about sex? As a result, news came from the capital that, let alone marrying a wife, this Gu Zijue didn't even have a waiter around him, and he was so clean that it was unimaginable.

Someone took the lead and called many businessmen over to discuss.

"Perhaps it won't take a few days for that Viscount Gu to arrive in Jiangnan. Have you guys thought of any countermeasures?" "Has anyone from the Qiao family come

?"

The child had a relationship with Gu Zijue early, and he even provoked Mr. Ding from the capital because of this. At that time, everyone called the Qiao family stupid, but now it seems that the Qiao family is smarter than everyone else." "

In my opinion, this Gu Zijue Maybe he is too young and has not yet experienced the beauty of women. When he comes and knows what it feels like, will he still be able to refuse?" "You can

also try this, but have you thought of another one ? Possible?"

"What possibility?"

"Hey, maybe we are looking in the wrong direction. This Gu Zijue has different preferences. Maybe he likes male sex instead of female sex." "

This... is not impossible. How about Everything is arranged."

This kind of thing is not unusual for the wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan. In addition to brothels, Jiangnan also has Nanfeng Tower, which is specially used to entertain guests with unique tastes. This is normal for them. Even if their preferences are unique, it does not prevent men from continuing to marry, have children, and pass on to future generations, or even regard it as an elegant thing.

Chapter 276 Arriving in Jiangnan

When Qiao Huan entered Wensi Academy, his father hoped that there would be a scholar in the family. Even if he could not succeed in his studies, he would at least be able to absorb the literary spirit of Wensi Academy. Unfortunately, Qiao Huan's father's wish for his son to become a successful man could not be realized, but at least the result did not disappoint him too much. No one expected that his son would maintain correspondence with Gu Zijue over the years after he first met him.

Qiao Huan really had no hope of taking the imperial examination, so he simply stopped wasting time at Wensi Academy. After knowing that he had left Wensi Academy, Gu Zhao and Song Ze Qi Yunfei discussed it and simply handed over the soap business in Jiangnan to him as an agent, so as to prevent other wealthy businessmen from being tempted. After all, Qiao Huan is the son of the Qiao family, and the Qiao family has some influence in the local area, which can relieve them of worries.

This is a cooperation that benefits both parties. Because of the cooperation with Qiao Huan, the soap workshop's business in Jiangnan has stabilized, and Qiao Huan has also impressed people with this business. Even Qiao's father gained a lot of dignity when he went out. The son cannot study well, but at least he has a business acumen, so it is not a loss of face for the Qiao family.

Qiao Huan naturally got the news that Gu Zhao was coming, and he was very excited. When they parted, he thought it would be difficult to see each other again in this life. He didn't expect that Gu Zhao would come to Jiangnan again so soon. Even if his annoying cousin came to inquire about the news, he was impatient. Gui was impatient, but it didn't affect Qiao Huan's good mood.

"Master," Qiao Huan's servant came in from outside and spoke in Qiao Huan's ear, "I heard..."

After the servant finished speaking, Qiao Huan became annoyed: "I know these guys don't know how to What a good idea, but you dare to use these methods on Gu Zhao, all of them have dog eyes!"

Qiao's father happened to come over, and when he heard his son cursing, he frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Who are you scolding?" "

Aren't you scolding those old worms? Do you know how they secretly discussed how to lure Gu Zhao into trouble?" "

Gu Zijue?" Father Qiao frowned, "They are jealous of the good things in Gu Zijue's hands, right? After Gu Zijue arrives, Huan'er, you have to warn Gu Zijue privately not to be fooled by them."

Father Qiao is aware of the methods of those people, and even he will inevitably use these methods, because If you don't give some money and women, those officials will have many ways to deal with you. Even if there is a brother-in-law who is the prefect, the Qiao family will pay tribute to the prefect every year, so that the Qiao family can stay in Jiangnan safely.

But Gu Zhao is different after all. Father Qiao knows very well that Gu Zhao is different from other officials. Gu Zhao is neither greedy for money nor lustful, and he has a good relationship with his son. He has been taking care of his son in the past few years. Father Qiao doesn't Maybe watching him step into those guys' trap.

"Dad, do you need to tell me this? I will definitely remind Gu Zhao, but even if I don't remind him, dad, do you think Gu Zhao won't know what's going on here? It's not that easy for those bastards to plot against Gu Zhao, otherwise His Majesty will Gu Zhao was sent to the south of the Yangtze River? Do they think that Gu Zhao is young and easy to be manipulated by them? Look, he will definitely fall into trouble." Qiao Huan was extremely confident in Gu Zhao, but he didn't realize that Gu Zhao didn't even try to win over Ding in person. With a good face, Ding stayed in Jiangnan and didn't even get to see Gu Zhao.

Qiao Huan looked at his son speechlessly and reminded: "You can never make a big mistake if you are careful." "

I know, I know. But what do you think about the Wan family, dad?" Gu Zhao didn't mention it in the correspondence with him, but Qiao Huan Huan intuitively followed the Wan family and there would be no good results. Besides, the Wan family had always looked down on their Qiao family, and they only thought of having this relative when they needed money and needed it.

Father Qiao frowned: "How can we decide this matter? Without the backing of the Wan family, do you think our Qiao family's business can be so stable?" Well

, Qiao Huan is no longer the middle school boy he used to be. , knowing the great disparity in status between officials and businessmen, although the Wan family has been yelling at the Qiao family over the years, they have indeed provided a protective umbrella: "It is because the son is incompetent and failed to pass the exam." Qiao's father waved his hand

: "Your father and I didn't pass the exam, so I don't have the nerve to accuse you. Let's look at the next generation. I think my grandson is much smarter than you were when you were a child. Maybe the next generation will be the best scholar in our family. "

Qiao Huan's black line, this is about his son, who has been looking forward to it from generation to generation. He has no hope here, so he places his hope on his son and his grandson. Okay, if you can read, of course you have to continue reading. If you can't read, you are just like him. You should give up your thought of doing business with your elders as soon as possible.

There was no need for Qiao Huan to remind him. Before he reached the border of Jiangnan, the information about that place was sent to Gu Mu. Seeing the movements of the officials and businessmen in Jiangnan, Gu Mu had a black line on his face, thinking that the emperor's uncle was too worried. He has a soft heart and keeps these people fat and fat, which makes the officialdom of Jiangnan become a mess. If he is called, he will behead what should be killed, but if he is killed too much, he will be afraid.

"What's going on?" Gu Zhao was very sensitive to Gu Mu's emotional changes.

"Brother, look at what the wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan are planning."

Gu Zhao looked at the information in Gu Mu's hands and couldn't help but laugh: "Then what do you want to do?"

"Brother, tell me. What?" Of course Gu Mu puts Gu Zhao first in everything, and it is the same this time. After all, he is here to protect Gu Zhao, the imperial envoy, and he does put Gu Zhao's safety first.

Gu Zhao thought for a while and said: "It's better to spread out and divide them into zeros, otherwise they will notice us as soon as we enter the Jiangnan boundary, and it will delay a lot of time, or the large army will continue to move forward. I'll take a few people with me to take the first step."

If the officials and businessmen go out together, even Gu Zhao and Gu Mu won't be able to completely ignore them, but if this ignores them, when will it end? Gu Zhao came here just to do things down-to-earth. Spending time on those people is simply a waste. The sooner the concrete dam is built, the sooner the fields and people on both sides of the river may be safe.

"Then I'll take a few people to follow my brother and leave first. The rest of us will continue to move at the same speed, otherwise I won't be able to rest assured about my brother's safety." "

Okay, let's make this decision. We'll set off tonight."

It would be better not to break up the team. Their team is already quite attractive. If they were completely broken up, wouldn't they just tell the people paying attention to their actions? Instead, they would focus on the scattered people heading to Jiangnan. Just let the large army openly attract the attention of those in Jiangnan.

When they camped on the roadside to rest that night, Gu Zhao and Gu Mu, who had eaten and drank enough, took a few skilled people and left quietly, with Gu Mu's confidants pretending to be him. Not all of these 300 people may be. They were loyal to Gu Mu, so these people had to be on guard. In order not to arouse their suspicions, Gu Zhao even asked Shi Mao and two others to stay and cover for him, while he and Gu Mu would rest in the carriage.

A few people and a few riders easily hit the road, traveling at night, and after speeding up their horses, they arrived at the border of Jiangnan in only two days. The two of them did not even enter the city, but went directly to the cement workshop built outside Jiangnan City.

Some people have been keeping an eye on the official road leading to Jiangnan. Unfortunately, Gu Zhao and the others were dressed like running businessmen, so they did not attract the attention of those people at all.

When they arrived at the cement workshop, after Gu Zhao showed his identity and the brand given by the emperor, he took over the cement workshop directly. The manager here didn't expect that Gu Zhao would arrive so quickly. He didn't even get the news and thought Gu Zhaoren was on the way. .

As soon as Gu Zhao checked the quantity of cement produced, it was not comparable to the workshops in the capital. He checked the account books again and found that part of the cement had fallen into the hands of the wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan. When Gu Zhao was about to check the account books, the steward's face turned pale and he knelt down before Gu Zhao. Zhao honestly confessed in front of him that the official level was overwhelming. He could not withstand the pressure of those officials and businessmen, so he had to sell part of the cement produced to those businessmen first.

"Ha, this is because the sky is high and the emperor is far away, so you can't control them, right?" Gu Mu sneered, a small cement workshop could do these things.

Only Gu Mu dared to say such bold words. The manager was so frightened that he trembled. At this moment, someone shouted loudly outside, asking the manager named Qian to send a few bags of cement quickly. They wanted to build a new cement road. The road was used to welcome Gu Zijue's arrival.

The steward broke into a cold sweat when he heard this, and Gu Zhaoze sneered. He even used his banner. In the capital, the princes and nobles would not dare to act so arrogantly, but here it is clear that there is no servant in any house who dares to do anything to the workshop. The steward came and went to drink.

"Get it for me! Wait until the big troops arrive." Gu Zhao ordered directly.

So the few people who followed them quickly rushed over and took down the arrogant guy outside. Before the guy realized that something was wrong, he shouted angrily: "Open your eyes and take a good look. My lord is the prefect of Jiangnan." , you dare to take me?"

"Noisy! Stop your mouth!" Gu Mu came out from behind and dug his ears with his hands, "Whose bitch did I think he was and dared to be so arrogant? It turned out to be the bitch in Wanzhifu. It's calling."

Yes, the prefect of Jiangnan is still the same prefect Wan, who is Qiao Huan's uncle.

Of course the people brought by Gu Mu obeyed the order. As soon as Gu Mu ordered them to gag their mouths, one of them quickly took out a piece of cloth from nowhere and stuffed it into the man's mouth. The man's eyes widened in shock. Not only was this man's face unfamiliar, , and he saw the steward of the workshop following him carefully, not daring to breathe.

Who is this person? How could he not even take his master Wan Zhifu seriously? He also saw that although Gu Mu was very powerful, he was not very old at all. This man became angry again, his eyes were spitting fire, and when he saw the adults, he would definitely complain to the adults.

Gu Mu waved his hand, and a few of his men quickly lifted the man up and threw him into a corner to be cooked in a few days.

The steward said tremblingly: "This person is the steward of Wan Zhifu. He is in the name of Wan Zhifu. I dare not disobey."

Gu Zhao waved his hand: "We are watching the things outside. You Hurry up and arrange to produce more cement. It will be of great use next time."

"Yes." The manager didn't dare to relax. He just wanted to do his best to complete the job and suffer less pain when the time comes.

Gu Zhao took a few steps forward and stood next to Gu Mu and said, "Fortunately, those glass products and mirrors are produced in the capital and shipped here. Otherwise, look at this battle, who might be involved in this business?" I have it in my hand."

Chapter 277 Cut off sleeves together

With Gu Zhao and Gu Mu in charge, the burden on Manager Qian's shoulders was much easier. He only had to focus on production. At the same time, he followed Zhao Zhao's order to block the news and not leak the news of the two adults' early arrival.

The arrogant and domineering prefect housekeeper was thrown into a corner and no one cared about him. He would not starve to death for two days anyway.

That night, Gu Zhao and Gu Mu, who had inspected the workshop, stayed at Guanshi Qian's residence, while Guanshi Qian himself stayed in the workshop with the workers.

"Brother, please rest early. The journey has been tiring enough." "Seeing that Gu Zhao was still looking at the account books, Gu Mu walked over to persuade him.

Gu Zhao rubbed his forehead and said, "Okay, let's rest first. There are so many things, there's no rush. Anyway, I'm already here, and I believe I'll be on the right track soon." Let's go and rest. "

This journey is indeed tiring, especially the last two days. Most of the time was spent on horseback. After relaxing in the bath, my eyelids were about to get sticky. Gu Zhao yawned and was touched by Gu Mu. He pulled her towards the bed, and within two steps, Gu Zhao made a gasping sound.

"What's wrong?"

Gu Zhao realized something was wrong and looked embarrassed: "It's okay. I'll put some ointment on it before going to bed and it'll be fine." "

"My skin is broken again. Brother, please go to bed and I will apply ointment for you. "

"No, I'll do it myself. "Gu Zhao firmly refused.

Although he had learned to ride a horse as early as when he was in school, and he thought his riding skills were not too bad, and he also paid great attention to physical exercise, but after all, he was a scholar rather than a martial artist, so how long could he really spend on horseback? Not to mention the need to ride a long distance on horseback, so the running around in the past few days has put a lot of pain on Gu Zhao's body. The skin on his thighs has been abraded again and again. This time he took the opportunity to take a bath, and the symptoms worsened. .

Gu Mu knew from the look on Gu Zhao's face that this time it was more serious. It was all because he didn't notice it earlier. He was so cold-hearted in front of Gu Zhao. Then, regardless of Gu Zhao's refusal, he picked up Gu Zhao and walked to the bed. Gu Zhao He was completely stunned and didn't react until he was thrown on the bed. At this time, Gu Mu actually took off his clothes for him.

Gu Zhao's old face turned a little red, but he still refused and said: "I said I would do it myself. It's not like I can't reach it. Be obedient, and you should go to bed quickly." "

Gu Mu suddenly stopped, raised his head and looked at Gu Zhao, and said, "Brother, are you ashamed? What is there to be ashamed of in front of Mu? Didn't my brother say that he would depend on Mu in the future? Even if I apply medicine for him, It doesn’t work or my brother just lied to me when he said those words.”

His face was cold just now, but in the blink of an eye he became aggrieved. He is obviously such an old man, and this look will make people laugh. He didn’t just come here. It's easy for people to be soft-hearted when around Gu Zhao, but unfortunately that's the way it works for others and Gu Zhao.

So when he saw Gu Mu's expression and the words he said, Gu Zhao really couldn't bear it, and his subordinates' refusal was no longer so firm, and he defended: "Why did I deceive you? Why don't you?" You know, now I have just accepted the habit of cutting sleeves. "

Gu Mu's eyes widened suddenly, with light shining in his eyes: "How come I didn't know about the habit of cutting sleeves?" Gu

Zhao scratched his face, yes, he never mentioned this to Gu Mu. Uncle Li and Mrs. Li couldn't have mentioned it to Gu Mu, "Well, I don't know how to tell you. At first, my second uncle misunderstood me and thought that Yu Wenshao and I had the same problem, so I just accepted it as it was. Otherwise, as I get older and older, I will no longer be able to escape the urge to marry. Later, I used this excuse to make Viscount Yu give up. He was given sterilization medicine and could not have children, so he actually ran in front of me. If he wants to recognize me, he won't give up easily if he refuses me once or twice, so I used this excuse to make him give up the idea completely. "

Gu Mu quickly lowered his head, fearing that if he looked at Gu Zhao like this again, he would not be able to help but knock Gu Zhao down.

No, he had to take his time because his brother was too slow to react. He was worried that moving too fast would scare him away.

While Gu Mu was undressing Gu Zhao, he asked calmly: "Actually, there's nothing wrong with cutting off your sleeves, right? My brother just said that he'd cut off his sleeves with me. After all, we're going to be dependent on each other in the future." "

"What nonsense are you talking about? Why drag you down to feed me when you are doing a good job? I said I would do it myself, so don't do anything. "

"Poof! "Gu Mu couldn't help but laugh, "Brother, if you talk like this, outsiders will mistakenly think that I'm being strong on you. It just so happens that there's no need to explain that I cut off my sleeves with you, it's become a fact.

"Gu Zhao's head was full of black lines, and he felt that he was being too pretentious, but no matter how close he was to Mu Mu, he couldn't let him apply medicine to that kind of place.

Enduring the pain in his legs and roots, Gu Zhao turned over and rolled into the bed, wrapping the quilt around himself: "Okay, I'll apply the medicine myself, and you go away. If I give you some color, you dare to open a dyeing workshop with me." ah. "

After scolding Gu Mu a few times, Gu Zhao took the ointment and hid under the quilt to apply it on himself. Gu Mu stopped. Although he really wanted to do it himself, his brother was too thin-skinned. What could he do and it was not fruitless? He couldn't compete. Knowing that his brother did these things behind his back.

Gu Mu was still sitting on the edge of the bed, fighting for it without giving up: "It just so happened that both His Majesty and my mother-in-law mentioned the matter of me starting a family. They both felt that I was almost old and it was time to marry and have children, so I simply went with My brother used the same method, saying that my brother and I had cut off our sleeves together, so there wouldn't be anything we could do for your majesty and my mother and concubine.

Gu Zhaoheixian: "Then they will definitely think that I led you astray."

With the precedent of Yu Wenshao, they probably wouldn't be too surprised when Gu Zhao also cut off his sleeves. However, Gu Mu was different. He was still young when he came to Gu Zhao's side. Maybe he became so influenced by Gu Zhao. in this way.

Gu Mu waved his hand and said, "No, I will handle this matter, as long as my brother doesn't refuse to admit it when the time comes." "

"What did I admit? Don't forget to call me brother. "

What's the point of calling me brother? Gu Mu wanted to call him brother at another time."

"I don't care. Anyway, brother, you have to agree even if you don't agree. I will tell His Majesty this way when I return to the capital, so that Your Majesty will not have to worry about my personal issues." "Gu Mu said shamelessly.

Gu Zhao took the medicine and threw the ointment at Gu Mu: "Then why do you want to ask me? Go and sleep now." "

Gu Mu took the ointment and looked at his brother's bed with some pity. The older he got, the more unwilling his brother was to let him sleep on his bed. Gu Mu also had scruples, worried that he couldn't control himself, so he could only Regretfully: "Brother, please lie down first, and I will turn off the light before going out." "

"Okay. "

Gu Zhao fell asleep within seconds after lying down. He didn't even know when Gu Mu left. Outside, the Wan Zhifu didn't notice that the housekeeper hadn't come back. He didn't even realize that such a person was missing from the house. It was just to welcome him. The cement road where Gu Zhao and his entourage arrived has actually been almost built. As for where the cement used comes from, you have to ask Wan Zhifu himself. Why he came to the workshop again to ask for cement, you also have to ask him himself.

"Sir, Master Gu and his team will arrive in Jiangnan in one day. "This is the news sent by the inn. The officials of Wan Zhifu and the wealthy businessmen were excited because they were finally here.

"Okay, okay, we will welcome Mr. Gu and his party with the highest standards. Don't be absent when you arrive. "

"I will obey your orders. "

"Master Gu's journey is very fast. It seems that he didn't stop much after leaving the capital, and he was all on the road. "

" Mr. Gu is so important to His Majesty at such a young age, so naturally he will not do things carelessly. "

Hurry up and hurry up. The large army will finally arrive in Jiangnan. On this day, Qiao Huan followed his father to the outside of the city early and waited on both sides of the road. He hoped to see Gu Zhao as soon as possible. , The friendship with Gu Zhao is not in vain.

There were many people around Qiao Huan, asking Qiao Huan about Master Gu's situation. In the whole Jiangnan, apart from the people in Wensi Academy, Qiao Huan was the most familiar with Gu Zhao. Even Jiangnan's soap business, Gu Zhaodu was handed over to Qiao Huan, making the young people of his generation envious.

There are also people younger than Qiao Huan who are simply curious about Gu Zhao and ask Qiao Huan about Gu Zhao's situation in the academy. Although he is not as good as Song Ze, Song Liuyuan, Gu Zhao is also the best prospector of that year. , I dare to ask how many scholars dare to say that they can be as good as Tan Hua Lang.

"Master Qiao, I heard that a new thing called glasses is popular in Beijing. Does Master Qiao know what those glasses are?" "Glasses,

as the name suggests, they are lenses worn on the eyes. How do you wear them?" Have you read Tanhua Lang's articles in the Beijing News? "

I have read them a long time ago. I have collected every copy since the Beijing News was published. Tanhua Lang published two articles in the Beijing News. It's a pity that They are all for advertising, so there is no way to see Tan Hwa Lang’s true literary talent. "

"If you want to see Tanhua Lang's literary talent, read the policy papers he wrote during the imperial examination. That best represents Tanhua Lang's level. "

"I just want to know how Tan Hwa Lang's brain is so long and how come there are so many things. I see that Tan Hwa Lang is different from other scholars. No wonder Master Qiao plays well with Tan Hwa Lang. "

Qiao Huan listened to the chattering in his ears and couldn't get a word in at the end. He couldn't help but wonder, what do these bastards mean by saying that he is ignorant and incompetent? After all, he also studied for those years and studied literature and thinking. Those who have been educated in the academy, these guys are worse than him.

Two people also came from Wensi Academy. They were inconspicuous among the crowds of people on both sides of the road. In fact, they came here just to make up the numbers, because yesterday the dean of the academy received a letter from Gu Zijue, stating that he would be free in the future. I will come to the academy to visit the masters and deans. This letter has actually revealed a message, that is, Gu Zijue has actually arrived in Jiangnan, and the large troops behind him are on the surface to attract the attention of the officials and businessmen in Jiangnan.

Chapter 278 Wan Zhifu

Wensi Academy is very proud of Gu Zhao, Song Ze and Ye Xiuming. Although these three people only entered Wensi Academy to study during their study tour, they eventually formed a connection with the academy. When the results of the Beijing Imperial Examination were reported to Wensi Academy At this time, the entire academy was in a state of excitement, including the Master and the deans. Song Liuyuan and Tan Hualang were also considered to have gone out of Wensi Academy, and everyone in Wensi Academy was proud of it.

Especially for Song Liuyuan, this is the highest honor for scholars. Even now, almost everyone has a copy of the articles and examination papers written by Song Liuyuan and Gu Zhao in the academy, and they are studied and collected by everyone. The Beijing News led by Song Liuyuan has also been People tried their best to get it from the capital and circulated it in the academy. It was well received by everyone, but the Beijing News of the Great Zhou Dynasty had some unpleasant comments.

Because of this, although the academy officials only sent two people to attend the occasion, many students came, crowded in the crowd and eagerly looking forward to it. The one who was about to arrive was Tanhualang, who had led many trends. They were well-informed. I have heard that wearing glasses can solve the problem of short-sightedness. Yes, there are students in the academy who have short-sightedness.

"Sir, Master Gu and his party will be here soon." A person rushed to the front of Wan Zhifu.

Wan Zhifu said excitedly: "Okay, everyone will follow Wan to welcome the arrival of Gu Zijue and Gu Qinqin."

Just as he said this, people gathered on both sides of the road saw a sizable team appearing in front of the official At the end of the road, they came into view. A team of three hundred people, riding horses in neat order, looked majestic and surrounded the two carriages. The scene made everyone stop talking unconsciously.

For some officials, just by looking at this scene, they knew that Viscount Gu was really favored by the Holy Spirit. He actually sent so many people and Viscount Pingnan to assist.

The leading guard saw the people headed by Wan Zhifu waiting in the middle of the road and waved the team to stop. The leading guard also got off his horse and strode over.

Wan Zhifu had a smile on his face: "Everyone, you have been working hard all the way. As the Jiangnan Zhifu, Wan has prepared everything for Mr. Gu and Pingnan Viscount. Please..." Before

Wan Zhifu could finish his words, he was stopped by the guard. The team leader interrupted and said seriously: "Sorry, our adults and Mr. Gu are not on the carriage. They have already rushed to Jiangnan. We are about to go to meet the two adults."

The people following Wan Zhifu couldn't bear it. I want to dig my ears. Could they have heard wrongly? Lord Gu and Viscount Pingnan were not on the carriage. They had already arrived in Jiangnan first? How can this be? They must have heard wrongly. They had been paying attention to the whereabouts of this group of people. How could they not know that someone had come to Jiangnan first?

Magistrate Wan was also stunned for a while: "How could it be possible? How could Wan not know?"

The leader of the guard said solemnly: "Master Gu is worried about official duties and dislikes the speed of the large team, so he came here first to take a look before he could feel relieved. Thank you, Magistrate Wan I will wait here with you all. Xia will inform the two adults that Xia will go ahead and rush to meet the two adults and say goodbye!"

After saying this, the man hugged his fists at Wan Zhifu, then turned around and went up again Horse, waved back, and the team marched neatly again.

"Dad, did you hear that?" Qiao Huan was not too close. After all, there were officials in front of him, but it was obvious from the battle that Wan Zhifu didn't seem to receive anyone.

Father Qiao was also surprised. At this time, there was a discussion in front of him. Father Qiao heard about it and said: "It seems that Mr. Gu is not on the carriage. He seems to have arrived a step earlier. It is possible that he is already in the cement workshop at this time.

" Huan almost couldn't help but clapped his legs and applauded for asking these people to put on such a big show. Unexpectedly, Gu Zhao didn't live up to their expectations at all.

When a team of three hundred people marched, the people in front didn't dare to stay any longer. They quickly retreated to both sides, leaving the road in the middle, and then watched helplessly as the team passed by them. They couldn't help it. I stared at the two carriages again and again, and found that there was really no one in them. They were empty, with some luggage at most.

No one dared to talk loudly when these people were there. When the team passed them and gradually moved away, the people waiting at the scene exploded with a buzz.

"Lord Gu is not in the carriage."

"It seems that Lord Gu arrived first and did not inform Magistrate Wan and the others." "

I didn't expect Lord Gu to do such a trick. Are Magistrate Wan and the others disappointed?"

Neither did the students of Wensi Academy. I thought this would be the result, but most people already had a filter for Gu Zhao, so they turned around and said good things about Gu Zhao, putting Wan Zhifu and others together? How could it be possible? Zijue Gu was obviously worried about official duties, so he couldn't wait to come over first to attend to official duties.

The officials headed by Wan Zhifu were certainly not in a good mood. Wasn't it obvious that they had been tricked by Gu Zhao and Gu Mu? The arrogance they put on became a joke, but they had nowhere to vent their anger. In anger, he had no choice but to turn around and follow him back to the city. Why would he continue to stay here to embarrass himself?

Those wealthy businessmen were disappointed, especially the leading salt merchants. In their opinion, both Gu Zhao and Gu Mu were young and very confused. As a result, they had already come to the south of the Yangtze River. They didn't know anything about it, and they were a little bit slapped in the face.

"Has Brother Qiao received news from Gu Zijue?" A salt merchant asked Qiao's father with suspicion in his eyes. Who made Qiao Huan and Gu Zhao so close? As far as they knew, the two had been exchanging letters for many years. During the festival, New Year gifts are given to each other. Will Gu Zhao inform the Qiao family if he arrives early?

Father Qiao cursed a few times in his stomach, but he couldn't tell it at all on his face: "No, maybe it was Master Gu's temporary decision. It would take a few days to send a letter from the capital to Jiangnan. Maybe Master Gu had already arrived in Jiangnan when he received the news. . Besides, Mr. Gu’s official duties are more important, and the contact with the child will naturally come at the back. It is the child’s honor that Mr. Gu can remember the child.” Father Qiao’s explanation could not completely convince these people, but Father Qiao

did not It doesn't matter, I asked my son to go home with me. Whether I picked up Gu Zhao or not this time, it would have no impact on their Qiao family. Even if Gu Zhao was on the carriage, there was no way he would follow his son to the Qiao family. What kind of talk was that? ? It would be a great honor for his son and the Qiao family to say hello, so personal relations should be postponed until later.

After greeting the acquaintances, Father Qiao took Qiao Huan into the carriage.

On the carriage, Qiao Huan was very excited and a little gloating. He whispered: "Dad, I saw that my uncle's face was a little ugly. He must be very annoyed and disappointed that he didn't receive Gu Zhao."

Father Qiao sighed: "Dad is worried about Mr. Gu. He is facing Mr. Wan when he first arrived. Mr. Wan is not broad-minded. If Huan'er has the chance to meet Mr. Gu, please remind Mr. Gu." Even though he and Wan Zhifu are brothers-in-law

, but It's just a relationship of interest. In the eyes of Wan Zhifu, he is just a money bag. In fact, this relative cannot be included in his eyes. In front of Wan Zhifu, his brother-in-law, he has always been a lowly person. Because of this relationship, , who knows the Wan Zhifu best, there should be no one in Jiangnan who can compare with him.

He is really not a big-hearted person who holds grudges. It's just that he is an official and he is a businessman.

Qiao Huan has never liked people from the Wan family. Wan Maosheng always used his status as the prefect to boss him around and put on a condescending air. Even his prefect uncle was similar, but he was more knowledgeable than his cousin Wan. It's just a little cover-up, so Qiao Huan never likes to go to Wan Zhifu's house, and his mother has scolded him countless times for this.

"Dad, I can, but I don't think Gu Zhao is free at all now. It's difficult to see him in person. Dad, you see Gu Zhao running to the workshop as soon as he comes, and then he will definitely focus on the cement workshop and embankment construction." When it comes to dam matters, anyone who has no time to meddle with other things is a person who really does practical things, and all other officials combined cannot compare to Gu Zhao." Qiao Huan admired Gu Zhao, he was a completely different official from his uncle , look at the cement produced by the cement workshop before Gu Zhao came, how much was used to build embankments and dams?

Father Qiao carefully looked outside the carriage, turned around and said: "I don't even have to look anywhere. If your words reach other people's ears..."

Qiao Huan made a shut-up gesture: "I know it in my heart. , just tell dad, no one else will hear a word from my mouth."

How could Father Qiao not know what Qiao Huan said, but it is precisely because of this that Gu Zhao's existence will become more and more like the prefect of Wanxing A thorn in the side of the likes, those in Wan Zhifu cannot give up so easily.

Qiao Huan said again: "Dad, don't think that I don't know that you also brought back a few bags of cement."

Father Qiao blushed and defended: "Your father, I just follow the crowd, everyone else has done this, your father If I don't do it, I will attract people's attention." He lowered his voice and said, "I haven't touched those bags of cement yet. If I have a chance, I will send it to Master Gu first." Then he scolded: "

That's Gu. Sir, please don't call Mr. Gu by your name."

Qiao Huan curled his lips and refused to argue with his father. If he called him Mr. Gu, he would feel that there would be a long distance between him and Gu Zhao, but he also knew it very well. , although Gu Zhao takes care of him, his status is indeed a bit low now. Master Qiao has a rare feeling of inferiority in his heart. He also wants to strive for success, but the gap between officials and businessmen is too big to bridge it. ah.

Wan Maosheng came out with his father to greet Gu Zhao and his party. When he returned, he also took his father's carriage. The father and son also talked on the road.

Looking at his father's dark face, Wan Maosheng said angrily: "Gu's arrogance is too great. Not only did he make his father wait on the roadside for such a long time, but he also made a show of it. It was obvious that he was going to slap his father in the face. , otherwise why didn’t he say something in advance?"

Wan Zhifu's face softened slightly, but he still scolded: "How can you discuss Mr. Gu's affairs?"

How could Wan Maosheng not know that his father was duplicity, and continued: " Father, what should we do now? Jiangnan is my father's territory after all. If the person named Gu wants to do things smoothly, it depends on his father, or..." The implication is that Wan Maosheng wants

his father to give him this surname. Gu taught him a lesson that taught him good things. When Gu Zhao made him lose face in Wensi Academy, he hated Gu Zhao. He privately thought that Gu Zhao had offended Master Ding. He really thought that his viscount status could be used in front of Master Ding. Okay? He had been waiting to see how Gu Zhao would end up, but Gu Zhao was promoted step by step, and now he was an imperial envoy sent by the imperial court to run errands in Jiangnan.

When he was at Jiangnan Wensi Academy, Gu Zhao was just an empty viscount. Wan Maosheng was jealous of his title and looked down upon Gu Zhao himself, thinking that he was just lucky enough to get a title. But if he failed to pass the Jinshi examination, this title would How useful it can be, but in just a few years, Gu Zhao has become a Beijing official with five senses. His father, the Jiangnan magistrate, is only a fourth-grade, fifth-grade Beijing official and a fourth-grade local official. It's hard to say who is. Higher.

Wan Maosheng felt even more jealous, wishing that Gu Zhao would be unlucky immediately.

"Don't be impatient!" Magistrate Wan scolded his son again, "Why are you so anxious? You also said that Jiangnan is my father's territory. In the end, he still asked for it to be on me. The person named Gu is nothing. He only knows how to use strange tricks to please the superiors. The real trouble is the Viscount Pingnan. Do you think it is easy for him to be favored by the Holy Emperor for many years? Moreover, he is also the legitimate son of the Southwest King. Although the father and son There has been a fuss, but there is no way to change the identity."

Wan Zhifu really felt that this person was a difficult person and should not be taken lightly. Those methods that could be used to deal with Gu Zhao could not be used on this person. , and his surname is Yan, which is the surname of the royal family.

"That child of the Qiao family is lucky. You had the opportunity to get acquainted with Gu Zhao, but you made it self-defeating and gave the opportunity to the child of the Qiao family."

Wan Maosheng's face turned red when he mentioned this. This meant that Is he not even as good as Qiao Huan? What qualifications does Qiao Huan, a merchant, have to be compared with him, the son of a prefect? He was not even qualified to carry his shoes: "My son was with Mr. Ding at that time, and the man named Gu obviously didn't look good to Mr. Ding. How could my son..."

Magistrate Wan also knew about this, and he specifically asked him to do so at that time. The housekeeper went to Wensi Academy, but was turned away. At that time, he was also annoyed by this incident. Although it was the behavior of the academy, he thought it must be Gu Zhao himself. At that time, he thought that Gu Zhao was a stupid young man. , I didn’t expect that after a few years, my behavior would not change at all, and I would still be in a daze.

"To achieve your goal, why do you care about a little face? Don't forget the task assigned to us from above." Magistrate Wan reminded his son.

Wan Maosheng clenched his fists: "My son will find a way."

Although Gu Zhao used all kinds of tricks, it cannot be denied that those things can bring in a lot of income, just look at the glass products and You can tell how much mirrors are sought after by wealthy businessmen. A full-length mirror delivered to Jiangnan can be sold for thousands of taels of silver. This cannot satisfy the needs of wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan, so they want to buy it at a higher price.

Who wouldn't be tempted by such an ability to attract money? It's hard to move in the capital, but if Gu Zhao revealed this recipe himself, then the emperor could only pursue Gu Zhao himself if he wanted to pursue it.

Xia Weiwei and Shi Mao rushed to the cement workshop. After entering the Jiangnan area, the person playing Gu Zhao and Gu Mu in the carriage came out to tell the truth. By then, even if someone wanted to send the message, it was too late, and everyone knew , It turned out that Gu Zhao and Gu Mu had left quietly one night.

Chapter 279 Tips

With the arrival of these three hundred people, the safety of the cement workshop has been guaranteed. The situation where the prefect's housekeeper barged directly into the workshop and bossed around the workshop managers will not happen again. Shi Dingshan and Mao Jiangtao were also assigned work by Gu Zhao and followed the workshop. The workers there work together.

Shi Mao and the two were very familiar with everything about the cement workshop. They had been helping Gu Zhao when they were in the capital. With their participation, the pressure on Manager Qian was once again relieved, and they were able to take off their hands and take Gu Zhao and Gu Mu to the first construction site. superior.

When Gu Zhao and Gu Mu arrived, Qian Lu, the junior official in charge of the construction site, hurriedly came to see people. He was very grateful to Gu Zhao. Because of Gu Zhao's arrival, the cement on the construction site was guaranteed. Otherwise, the cement would not have left the workshop. He asked others to move it away, and someone even gave him a suggestion to use mud instead of cement. Why be so serious?

This made Qian Lu very angry. Although it was just a word difference, the effect was vastly different. If he replaced it with mud, the dam would collapse as soon as the flood washed away. How many fertile fields and people would be lost by then? Disaster.

Now there is finally someone who can take charge. When Qian Lu came to see Gu Zhao, his eyes were filled with gratitude: "It's great that Mr. Gu can come. We have hope." Although Qian Lu and Manager Qian are

both His surname was Qian, but he was not from the same family. Manager Qian had honestly explained all the situations before, including those at the construction site. Gu Zhao knew that Qian Lu had endured a lot of pressure and would rather wait for the cement to arrive than cheat.

Gu Zhao patted Qian Lu on the shoulder and said, "Thank you for your hard work. I will work with you to supervise the construction of the dam. I have to ask you about many things." "

Don't dare, don't dare." Qian Lu felt very happy. I didn’t expect Mr. Gu to be so approachable and devoid of any airs. Several generations of his family have been engaged in this work. Regardless of other abilities, he still has some confidence in making money from building embankments and dams.

With both Shi Mao and Shi Mao watching in the workshop, Gu Zhao rushed into the construction site. Naturally, Gu Mu brought some bodyguards to accompany Gu Zhao. No one wanted to meet the officials in Jiangnan.

Wan Zhifu, on the other hand, thought that if Gu Zhao and his party were left alone for a few days, they would know that they would not be able to move forward without their help in Jiangnan, so they would honestly come to see him as the prefect. Who would have thought that after waiting for a few days, they would be Gu Zhao was nowhere to be seen.

"What did this boy do after he came here?" Wan Zhifu asked his master. In his eyes, Gu Zhao was just a boy with no hair on his head. He dared not to take him seriously. This made him There was a fire in his heart. As for the younger Gu Mu, he was of course different in his eyes. No matter how young he was, his surname represented something extraordinary, and he had to provide for it, unless one day he took sides. The master can get to that position and clear out Gu Mu, then he can step up and step on it a few times.

After knowing that Gu Zhao had come to Jiangnan in advance, the master sent someone to watch Gu Zhao. Although the cement workshop was no longer a place where they could enter and exit at will, it was still easy to know Gu Zhao's whereabouts: "Sir, Mr. Gu has been at the construction site these days, and he seems to be doing some practical work. By the way, Sir, one of the housekeepers in the house was detained by the workshop. I heard that it was the order given by Viscount Pingnan."

Wan Zhifu There is more than one housekeeper in the house, and this one is the second housekeeper, so it is not to the extent that the house cannot function without him. If he doesn't show up for a day or two, it can be ignored. But if he doesn't show up for three or four days, it means that the big housekeeper deliberately ignores it. The people below will also report it. This investigation revealed that the second housekeeper had been missing for several days. After checking when he was last seen, it was discovered that he went to the cement workshop. The reason was that the second housekeeper made his own decision and hid Gu Zhao. They went to the workshop to get cement in the name of others, perhaps because they were worried that after Gu Zhao arrived, they would not be able to get cement so easily.

Perhaps some of the cement obtained was from Wan Zhifu, and some of it might have been embezzled by him and resold to wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan.

But no matter what the purpose is, people have to be found out, otherwise the dignity of the magistrate will be lost? Even if he is the second steward, it represents the face of Wanfu, so the first steward went to negotiate with the workshop in person. Unfortunately, the guards guarding outside the workshop did not give the steward a good face at all. The first steward was forced to tell the matter. The master next to the master.

The master personally went to understand the situation and found out why the second housekeeper was detained. He also understood the inside story. Although he knew that the second housekeeper had done something dishonorable, the workshop detaining people like this was a beating. The face of the family is so great that even he could not bring the person out in the past.

Therefore, the master had no choice but to file a complaint in front of Wan Zhifu.

"Is this happening? Your Majesty didn't report it to me? I'll give you a sign to bring him back! You slave, you can't handle anything well. If you spread the word, you will only lose my face! "

The master smiled bitterly and said: "The second housekeeper went to the workshop to carry cement. It happened that Lord Gu and Viscount Pingnan arrived at the workshop. He detained him without saying a word and said that the cement must be used for dam construction and was not allowed to be carried outside. It was against the rules."

He said . It was after some negotiation that I learned about the so-called "rules" from the money manager. But in the Jiangnan area, their adults' words are the rules. What does the money manager of the workshop mean? What did they always do before? It was not a problem to pick up the cement at that time, but why did Gu Zhao change as soon as he arrived?

Sure enough, Magistrate Wan was very angry when he heard the word "rules". He threw the cup in his hand on the ground and broke it into pieces. He shouted "good" several times: "Then let him hold it. In the end, I will ask him to If you send it back in person, you have to apologize to me!"

"Pass it on to me, and no one is allowed to go see them privately!"

"Yes, sir!" The master secretly rejoiced in his heart. He should teach Gu Zhao a lesson. .

Gu Zhao, who was busy at the construction site, had long forgotten about the prefect's housekeeper. If Manager Qian hadn't been worried about the man being hungry and still remembered to provide him with food, Gu Zhao would have done it long ago if he had thought about it. He did it, and Gu Zhao also didn't know that his move had offended Wan Zhifu so much that he actually gave such an order. Of course, even if he knew it, he wouldn't care too much. He only delayed him to give Wan Zhifu face. When it comes to work, I will still be stuck in the quagmire of Jiangnan officialdom, and I don’t know how much effort it will take to climb out.

But the people outside were shocked. Who would have thought that this new imperial envoy would offend Wan Zhifu and make Wan Zhifu give such an explanation. This word spread not only among the officials, but also to the ears of the businessmen. .

The determined prefect faction will resolutely implement the plan without saying a word, and will even stumbling upon Gu Zhao and his party at every turn. Be sure to let him know that leaving Wan Zhifu in Jiangnan is absolutely impossible, while the wall-head faction will hesitate. He decided to make a decision, but he didn’t want to offend Wan Zhifu, so he rolled up his sleeves and pretended to be deaf to what was going on outside the window. Those officials who were dissatisfied with Wan Zhifu were extremely angry. They were also paying attention to the actions of Gu Zhao and his party, watching Gu Zhaoyi He drilled into the construction site as soon as he came, which made the construction work on the construction site several times faster. I was very relieved that this person was a person who did practical things, not the kind of people who enriched their own pockets and did things perfunctorily. Only in this way can the people of Jiangnan be blessed.

It's just that such officials are in the minority after all. They can do too little and they are still being suppressed and excluded. They can only think of ways to send a message to Gu Zhao and the others to remind them, lest Gu Zhao accidentally fall into the world. In the pit of the magistrate and his ilk.

The merchants were stunned. Of course, those big salt merchants obeyed the Wan Zhifu. They also felt that Gu Zhao should be taught a lesson. Only if they knew to be honest and obedient would they get what they wanted. Qiao Huan was anxious when he got such news. I had to wander around the house, and I wished I could rush to the construction site immediately to give Gu Zhao a message.

"Dad, please let me go find Gu Zhao. At least I have to tell him, so that he will not be kept in the dark all the time. And Mom, Dad, please help me stop him." His mother is a concubine, and she is a concubine. She married into a businessman, so she always felt a head shorter when facing the prefect's wife's sister-in-law. She usually supported her sister-in-law, and she also demanded the same from her son. Knowing that Gu Zhao had angered her brother-in-law when he came, Mrs. Qiao didn't want her son to leave the house again. Looking for Gu Zhao, isn't it clear that he wants to go against his uncle?

Regardless of whether Gu Zhao will be fine or not, even if he is fine, he can go back to the capital with a slap on the butt, but the Qiao family still has to stay in this Jiangnan territory. Will they be able to get good results by then?

Father Qiao was very entangled in his heart, and finally gritted his teeth and gambled. After losing everything at worst, he took his wife and children to start a new business elsewhere: "Okay, if you want to go, just go quickly, I will be there with your mother. "

Qiao Huan was overjoyed, thanked his father repeatedly, and hurried out with his two followers. Now there is no one in Jiangnan who doesn't know where Gu Zhao is, so Qiao Huan also knows where to find someone, but nothing happened before. At that time, he didn't want to disturb Gu Zhao on his errands, but now it was extremely urgent.

This news first reached Wan Maosheng's ears, and he immediately scolded his worthless cousin, and then went to complain to his father.

Other businessmen obeyed orders, and no one dared to contact Gu Zhao and his entourage. However, his own family stood up to him, and he was very angry with the Qiao family and the prefect Qiao Huanwan: "Let your mother go to the Qiao family. You have treated Qiao all these years." The family is too polite. Do you really think that I will look down on my relatives and show favor to them?"

Madam Wan was also very angry that the Qiao family did not obey her man. She went to the Qiao family and became very angry with her concubine. Mrs. Qiao was trained to the point of disgrace. Although Father Qiao was not in the backyard, he knew what was going on in the backyard. His whole face was dark and gloomy. He expected such a situation when he sent his son out to find Gu Zhao, but even though he was mentally prepared, he was still very worried. Annoyed, what about relatives? What's the difference between training a person like this and training a dog?

He just wanted to make a big bet, betting that the final winner of this fight would be Gu Zhao and Gu Mu, the Viscount of Pingnan. The losers of this fight would not have a good end, and the Qiao family would also move in and take the pressure on them. In this big mountain, Gu Zhaohui is much more benevolent and righteous than Wanjia.

Yes, he bet that Gu Zhao would win, and then he would bring the Qiao family to join Gu Zhao.

Chapter 280 Uncle Li’s letter

Gu Mu looked at the message in his hand with a playful look in his eyes. His elder brother was the most powerful. When he first arrived in Jiangnan, he did nothing but immersed himself in work. In this way, the entire Jiangnan officialdom was stirred up. stand up.

It would be good to move, but he was worried that these people would not move. How could they expose their weaknesses if they didn't move? Only by moving would he have an opportunity to take advantage of them.

The bastard named Wan actually dared to threaten his brother. Who the hell is he? Gu Mu had a cruel look on his face, crumpled the paper in his hand into pieces and threw it into the brazier nearby.

Gu Mu turned around and started writing a letter again. Even if he hadn't gotten the conclusive evidence of Wan yet, it wouldn't stop him from filing a complaint with the emperor. Wan regarded Jiangnan as his own territory, and hindered his brother from doing things, including moving cement. He didn't lie about the suspension of dam construction for personal use, but he was just a little more specific. But those things were not all done by people named Wan. This was just Jiangnan, and the sky was high and the emperor was far away, so he dared to do this. Damn it, do you really think the emperor would turn a blind eye to these situations and let the people below mess with him?

The first person who came to the construction site to look for Gu Zhao was not Qiao Huan, but someone who came from the next door to Jiangnan. When he saw Gu Zhao, he called him "Master". He was the confidant of Uncle Li. Second Uncle Li knew that Gu Zhao came to Jiangnan for business. I immediately sent my master to make a trip in person. If he hadn't been unable to spare the time, he would have come in person.

Not only did Master Fu come, he also brought a lot of fresh seafood and canned food. Uncle Li's place is close to the sea, and the most indispensable thing is all kinds of seafood in the sea. He hastened to deliver it to Gu Zhao, which was quite fresh. , it won’t work if you send it to the capital.

Master Fu was very happy to see Gu Zhao: "My lord is very excited. If he couldn't spare too much time, he would have come over in person. My lord also asked his subordinates to bring some canned seafood over for Young Master Biao to try and give it to the lord." If you can, I plan to send these canned seafood to the capital."

Although Yaocheng is next door to Jiangnan, it is not as wealthy as Jiangnan, and of course it is not too poor, but the surrounding counties and villages, Especially in mountainous areas with little arable land, it is a really poor place. Before this, there was no way. If there was no land to grow food, we could only rely on merchants to transport it from outside. The price would undoubtedly be much higher. There was no shortage. Seafood, but seafood is not easy to store and cannot be sold at a high price.

Second Uncle Li had long been interested in the various canned foods produced by Gu Zhao and Gu Yao's pastry shop. Now he came to work in Yaocheng, and after seeking Gu Zhao's consent, he decided to develop canned seafood. , In fact, if Uncle Li didn't mention it, Gu Zhao would also think of Fang Zi to remind him, otherwise it would be a pity to leave so much seafood unused.

Gu Zhao was also very happy: "My second uncle is thinking about me. I happen to be too talkative these days, so my second uncle brought me seafood. If you stay for two days before leaving, I will definitely give my second uncle a good review." Just a moment."

"Okay." Master Fu was not polite to Gu Zhao, and only Viscount Yu was stupid and would not let such a smart and capable son go.

Uncle Li brought a lot of seafood. Gu Zhao immediately ordered people to add extra meals to the workers, and the work on the construction site suddenly became more enthusiastic. After Mr. Gu came, their food improved a lot, and meat and fish could often be seen.

This was the first time Gu Zhao opened his stomach to eat seafood since he recovered his memories of the apocalypse. Qinghe County is located inland, and what he usually sees are dried shrimps and other seafood. Gu Zhao discovered that Li Er It is not without benefits for my uncle to take a job in Yao City. At least it is much more convenient to deliver seafood from Yao City to Jiangnan. There will be no shortage of seafood to eat with my second uncle.

While Gu Zhao was having a feast with Gu Mu, someone came to report that a man named Qiao Huan had come to meet Master Gu, saying that he was an old acquaintance of Master Gu in Jiangnan.

"Qiao Huan? Please come in quickly. Why is he here now?"

The messenger hurried out to invite Qiao Huan over. It seems that Qiao Huan really did not lie. He is indeed an old acquaintance of Mr. Gu when he came to Jiangnan before. It is not a secret that Zhao studied at Wensi Academy in Jiangnan. Anyone who pays attention will know it.

Not long after, Qiao Huan, who was sweating from the rush, was brought over. Gu Zhao stood up to greet him and said with a smile: "It's better to arrive early than to arrive late. My second uncle sent a lot of fresh seafood here today. Just in time to eat together. Come on, come with me. By the way, my brother Gu Mu knows this, right? Mu Mu, this is Brother Qiao Huan. He received a lot of care from Brother Qiao when he was at Jiangnan Wensi Academy." Qiao Huan

knows Gu Zhao treated him kindly, and judging from the letters, there was not much change from before. But when they met in person, Qiao Huan still felt flattered when he saw that Gu Zhao treated him the same as before.

However, something wasn't right about the way Gu Mu looked at this guy. Gu Mu looked at him sideways and said, "Is this the bastard who was beaten up by your brother when he talked so much about you?" Before Qiao

Huan's happiness faded, he felt His legs are weak, he wants to slap himself in the face, and he wants to cry but has no tears. Is this a dark history that he can't erase? If he had known now, if he had been given more courage, he would not have dared to make fun of Gu Zhao.

Gu Zhao laughed and kicked Gu Mu: "Okay, I beat Brother Qiao back then, and the debt is settled. Why do you bring up the old things again? Besides, Brother Qiao and I couldn't fight without fighting that time. We've known each other, Brother Qiao, don't you think so?"

"Yes, yes, we don't know each other without fighting. I hope Sir will forgive the minor mistake." Qiao Huan bowed his head to Gu Mu and admitted his mistake honestly.

Gu Mu touched his chin, forget it, I don't have the same experience as this bastard.

Seeing that Gu Mu stopped talking, Qiao Huan carefully sat down with Gu Zhao. These seafood were not very new to Qiao Huan. After all, it was very convenient to go to Yao City from here. Rich young men like them spent a few days going to Yao City to eat. A meal is a very rare and common thing.

Qiao Huan tasted the chopsticks for a while and then explained his purpose to Gu Zhao. Gu Zhao suddenly realized that the past few days had been very quiet, and no one came to the construction site to disturb him.

However, Qiao Huan came specially to inform him, and Gu Zhao remembered this friendship. After all, Magistrate Wan was his uncle, and Magistrate Wan could be happy knowing that he was doing this. In his eyes, this was tantamount to betrayal, and he was cheating. Bar.

"Thank you, Brother Qiao, for coming here to inform me. Don't worry, I came here only to build the dam. Other official matters have nothing to do with me, so their actions won't have much impact on me?" Gu Zhao comforted Qiao Huan.

"Really?" Qiao Huan was dubious.

Gu Mu sneered in his heart, thinking that of course his brother was coaxing him, how could it be irrelevant and have no influence? Without the support and assistance of local officials, his brother's work could not be carried out at all, but the man named Wan thought that this might stop his brother and let him Doing what he says is just a daydream.

Is my brother so easy to compromise? The reason why he stood still was to cooperate with him and confuse those bastards for him.

"Of course, you haven't seen that I'm doing a good job here. The workers and officials outside are very cooperative with me. The dam here will be completed in half a month. I will move to another place. The production of the cement workshop is also going very smoothly."

Qiao Huan really believed it. He saw the workers working very energetically along the way, which was completely different from the spirit of the laborers he had seen before.

Qiao Huan smiled: "That's good. By the way, speaking of cement, I remembered something."

Qiao Huan quickly told him that his father also made cement and hid it at home. His father said that he wanted to find an opportunity to give Gu Zhao Delivered.

Although Guanshi Qian was unable to withstand the pressure before, he clearly remembered where all the cement produced went in the ledger. When Qiao Huan mentioned it, Gu Zhao also remembered it. The Qiao family did have a share. Thinking that Father Qiao took the cement and didn't use it immediately, he couldn't help but laugh. Father Qiao was really a cautious person.

Since the Qiao family showed such goodwill, Gu Zhao would not push it further: "Okay, wait for my notification first. It is not needed here for the time being. I will let Brother Qiao know when the need arises elsewhere." "

Okay, then. I am waiting."

After saying what he wanted to say, the burden on Qiao Huan's heart was relieved, and he started to feast with Gu Zhao, who ran over without eating.

After eating and drinking, Qiao Huan followed Gu Zhao and Gu Mu around the construction site a few times. When he saw the concrete-poured embankment under construction, he was amazed. It was really much stronger than the original embankment. The cement was indeed It's a good thing. Thinking about what those big salt merchants did to remove the cement, Qiao Huan felt ashamed for them. Those guys only care about their own enjoyment and don't care about the lives of the people.

Qiao Huan couldn't help much if he stayed, and Gu Zhao was really busy. People came to him from time to time to ask questions, so Qiao Huan said goodbye to Gu Zhao and went back first. He would talk to Gu Zhao to talk about old times after Gu Zhao finished these things. .

Qiao Huan came here worriedly and went back happily. When he got home, he had a long phone call with his father. On the contrary, Qiao Huan was a little absent-minded.

"Dad, did you listen to me? Dad, what are you thinking about? Could it be that someone from the house came to embarrass dad after I left?"

Father Qiao cheered up and saw the happy look on his son's face when he came back. , I knew that his trip was smooth, but he had something hidden in his heart and couldn't make up his mind for the moment.

"Listen, your aunt came over. Your mother is in a bad mood right now."

Qiao Huan's joy suddenly faded a lot. Mrs. Wan said she was his aunt, but in fact she didn't like Wan Maosheng very much. He, including his mother, is Madam Wan’s concubine, so if her aunt comes here by herself, nothing good will happen. You must know that it is his mother who always goes to Wan Mansion to see Madam Wan, and Madam Wan rarely condescends to set foot in their palace. Home, business people will defile her noble feet.

Although Qiao Huan sympathized with his mother, he was afraid to see her. His mother didn't think there was anything wrong with this way of getting along with her. She supported her sister-in-law willingly and asked her son to do the same. In the past, he and his cousin When there was a conflict, she always asked him to apologize to Wan Maosheng. Anyway, it would only be him who was wrong, not Wan Maosheng.

So now Qiao Huan was afraid of going to see his mother, and his mother would definitely talk to him again. Father Qiao knew this very well, and said, "Okay, if you don't want to go see him, just don't go. I've already told you Mom, you are tired after this trip. Go and rest first."

"Okay, dad, the son is going down."

However, Qiao Huan did not hide after all. When he took a rest after bathing, his mother took him Someone came to his yard, so Qiao Huan was forced to listen to his mother's reasoning. In summary, he should listen to his aunt and uncle in everything. His mother always believed that the Qiao family could only rely on the Wan family to survive. Live a good life.

Qiao Huan was quite filial. She had a headache after being read so much, so she could only say: "Mom, my son has to listen to his father. He is the head of our family."

Mother Qiao was so angry that she beat her son: "I don't know what your father is doing. I want you to go to see that Gu Zijue for what? I don't know why you are going against your uncle. Mom is going to be mad at you and your son." "

Then mom, go find dad to settle the score. My son supports mom."

Mother Qiao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Her words sounded like coaxing. What else could she do besides beating her son? She was so worried as a mother, the men in the family didn't listen to her, they all acted smart, but she, a woman, really couldn't defeat the men in the family.

Will she feel better when her eldest sister scolds her in front of the servants? But the Qiao family is a merchant family and is naturally inferior to the official family. The only thing that can satisfy her is that her husband treats her well. Unlike her eldest sister, her brother-in-law has many women in the backyard. My elder sister has many concubines and concubines, so compared to my eldest sister, she has a lot less to worry about.

As night fell, Gu Zhao and Gu Mu were working together in the room that served as a study. Gu Zhao took out the autographed letter that Master Fu had specially given to his second uncle.

In the letter, his second uncle earnestly warned him to act with caution. Gu Zhao laughed a little. When Master Fu went back and told him what happened after he came to Jiangnan, he didn't know how worried his second uncle would be.

Seeing Gu Zhao's serious expression behind him, Gu Mu looked over and asked, "What did our second uncle write in the letter?"

Gu Mu even called his parents together, so Gu Zhao didn't feel at all surprised when he said "our second uncle" Yiyi: "My second uncle said in the letter that there was a major flood in the south of the Yangtze River seven years ago, which caused countless fertile fields to be submerged and many people were displaced. In the end, an official named Liu was beheaded. My second uncle told me that there was probably something else going on in the original case. That person In fact, the second uncle of the official named Liu who was beheaded had been close to him before. Based on his impression of him, he was not like someone who embezzled money from disaster relief and river management. That man was an honest official, but everyone had been beheaded. He wanted to There is no way to trace it if I ask."

"The second uncle is talking about Liu Shilian, I think. I have seen the original case files in Beijing. On the surface, there are no flaws. However, not only the second uncle is suspicious, but your majesty is also suspicious. There is still a lot of money left. We can recover it, but the whole Liu family was beheaded, and no one was left alive. We just wanted to find clues, but it was impossible to find out as the second uncle said." "

Everyone was beheaded?" Gu Zhao was shocked to hear this.

Gu Mu said: "The incident was too big and almost caused trouble. It was almost the same as what happened with our grandfather. So in order to reassure the people, after finding the evidence, the people sent to deal with the matter quickly moved the Liu family to The prince was taken down for questioning, and it didn't take long before a whole family was beheaded in front of the people of Jiangnan. The situation in Jiangnan was quickly stabilized." "

What was the situation of the Wan Zhifu at that time?"

"He, at that time He was a colleague under Liu Shilian, and he had a share of credit for exposing Master Liu. After killing Master Liu and stabilizing the situation in Jiangnan, he replaced Master Liu and became the prefect of Jiangnan. It can be said that he was the prefect of Jiangnan before and after. I have been in Jiangnan for ten years, and it can be said that it is deeply ingrained."