Chapter 431 Please take me in again
There were more than 20 merchants entering the hall. Li Tai arranged for them to have a unified task, which was to do their best to decorate the hall of this mansion gorgeously and beautifully. He also made a promise that if the effect is good, then He gave priority to purchasing the goods he brought into Beijing so that he could return home as soon as possible.
More than half of these merchants were from Qinzhou, and they all had some understanding of Li Tai's style of doing things. After hearing this, they immediately began to carefully look at the layout of the hall and think about how to arrange it.
There were other Hu businessmen from Hexi and even the Western Regions, who seemed a little unconvinced by what Li Tai said, probably because they suspected that he had insufficient financial resources.
"Li Kaifu is one of the most powerful people in the country. It is your honor to summon you and others because of something in the family. You and others must do things well, and there is no need to worry about the rest."
Linghu Yanbao next to him saw that these people's reaction was not enthusiastic enough, so he spoke from the side.
Hearing what he said, those people from Hexi and Hu businessmen hurriedly joined in. Obviously, the weight of Linghu Yanbao, a local tycoon in Guazhou, was still heavier than that of Li Tai in their eyes.
"The country people are so stupid that they make me laugh."
Linghu Yanbao then walked up to Li Tai, clasped his fists in embarrassment and said.
Li Tai waved his hand and said he didn't care. In order to make room for these merchants, he simply asked Linghu Yanbao to go to another hall to sit down, and then asked out of curiosity: "Who is General Linghu?" Are you going to stay in Beijing, or are you leaving and coming back?”
Previously, Linghu Yanbao entered Beijing with him from Longyou and participated in this year's parade. Zhao Gui also made things difficult for him because of his own involvement. But then Li Tai led his troops to leave and did not have time to pay attention to Linghu Yanbao's whereabouts. , so I have this question when we meet again today.
"After the former separated from Xianyang, Lang Jun led his troops to the north, and his servants were sent by the Taiwan government to return to their hometowns to preach. After returning home, feeling the difficulty of the country's fate, they gathered more than two thousand people from their hometowns to invite them to serve in the court. Not long after their return, they When I heard that my husband had returned home with great achievements, I felt deeply honored. I was afraid that after my husband came to the capital, he would be busy with many people, so he didn't dare to come and cause trouble, so he came to pay his respects only now..."
After hearing this, Linghu Yanbao quickly told Li Tai his experiences in the past six months, and looked at Li Tai with eyes full of admiration. In just a few months, he traveled back and forth on the road, but Li Tai's achievements reached a new level!
"General Linghu once made great contributions to the border states, and now he has brought his whole family to serve in the court. It is indeed a heroic act of the West, which is admirable!"
After hearing this, Li Tai smiled again and said, "I also need to stay in the country for a while. If there are any difficulties in personnel matters, General Linghu can send someone to report."
As soon as he finished speaking, Linghu Yanbao stood up from the table and knelt in front of him. At the same time, he said in a sincere tone: "I do have something to ask you, sir. I would like to ask you to join me when we met before Longyou." The old story of walking under the king's family. Now I am asking for more than two thousand country disciples. I hope you can protect all the disciples within your power!"
"General, please wake up quickly!"
Seeing this, Li Tai hurriedly stood up and tried to pull Linghu Yanbao up, but Linghu Yanbao still paused and lowered his head to the ground. At the same time, he said in a sincere tone: "The former felt that he was ugly, and although he offered himself up, he did not dare to ask for it. But the lives of the people in the country depend on each other, and the servants must choose a kind and compassionate master to follow and serve them, so that they can live up to the expectations of the people in the West. Some people in the West may not be as beautiful as the people in the Central Plains, but they are still loyal and courageous. I sincerely request you. Mr. Lang takes it in!"
Seeing Linghu Yanbao's sincere attitude, Li Tai also said: "The reason why I didn't respond to the general's invitation before was because I was afraid that my power was still weak, my foundation was shallow, and I couldn't help myself. I really couldn't bear to interfere with the general's future. But now The general's invitation again shows that he is sincere and touching. If I refuse again, I will become lonely and annoying. From now on, we will support each other through thick and thin and never give up!"
"Yan Bao meets the lord!"
Linghu Yanbao was overjoyed after hearing this. After kowtowing again, Li Tai pulled him up and sat down at the banquet, with a satisfied look on his face as if his wish had been fulfilled.
Since he officially accepted Linghu Yanbao as his disciple, Li Tai was of course responsible for his troops. Soon after he asked where his troops were stationed, he learned that his troops were still stationed in the suburbs of western Beijing. , and Chang'an did not provide corresponding material supplies.
In fact, such border troops were in an embarrassing situation when they entered Beijing. The order for Linghu Yanbao to lead his troops to Beijing was issued by the Bafu, so Chang'an naturally had no obligation to provide them with supplies. There are many military affairs in the Bafu, and Linghu Yanbao's command is just his own personal song, not an active member of the Chinese army or a prefecture, county, or township regiment. There is also no rationing share.
Although Linghu Yanbao was a local tycoon in Xizhou and had a strong family background, and could afford to support his own private soldiers even without the help of the court or the hegemony, the area around Gyeonggi was different from the land in Hexi, and many resources could not be bought with money.
When Linghu Yanbao was summoned to Beijing, the Tai government was still trying its best to recruit troops to prepare for the war in Guanzhong based on the principle of strength in numbers, so its attitude was quite attentive.
However, when his troops arrived, the Eastern Wei army had already retreated from Yubi. Daxingtai's biggest concern turned to adjusting the post-war situation, and he no longer cared about Linghu Yanbao's team that came to Beijing from Hexi. . Without the care from the top, the situation of Linghu Yanbao's department will naturally become more difficult.
Li Tai knew the character of these military leaders in the country, and was wary of new forces like Linghu Yanbao that had suddenly emerged. He had restrained himself by not openly suppressing them, and was determined not to take the initiative to provide help.
After pondering for a while, he bent down at his desk and wrote quickly, and quickly wrote a letter. He called his own soldiers and said: "Send this letter to the Duke of Longxi and ask him to transfer it to an idle building in Kinki as appropriate in the near future." The military city is available for use.”
Li Hu is in charge of the defense dispatch of Kinki troops in western Beijing, so it is easy to ask him to help arrange a garrison.
Of course, Li Tai would not be arrogant enough to think that he could order Li Hu at will with just a letter. He then said to Linghu Yanbao: "There are still some things at home today. After I finish my work, I will invite you to come with me." I went to visit the Duke of Longxi and asked him to help me take care of the military affairs."
After hearing this, Linghu Yanbao quickly nodded in agreement, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Having the care and protection of such a powerful person really made people feel at ease. In just a moment, the hesitation in his heart about not knowing what to do was greatly eliminated.
At this time, the businessmen were also submitting their decoration plans one after another. Some described them in words, while others drew up more vivid and concrete sketches.
Li Tai and Li Licheng listened to the various plans together, and of course the final choice was left to Li Licheng. Li Tai's requirements are that the first thing is to be beautiful, and the second thing is to be luxurious. In short, it must be full of that amazing feeling that is unforgettable at first sight!
In addition to proposing decoration plans, these merchants also brought some samples, such as gold and silver jewelry and other utensils, exotic and exquisite tapestry carpets, etc., both of which were very precious in terms of materials and craftsmanship.
After browsing the samples, Li Tai also discovered a pattern, that is, the goods provided by merchants from Qinzhou were slightly inferior, while the goods provided by merchants from the west were more exquisite. But the goods provided by these merchants were not as good as those he got from Jinyang.
It's just that his brigade transporting the loot is still advancing slowly behind, and its destination is Huazhou instead of Chang'an. Li Licheng's wedding is obviously too late, so he can only buy part of it from these merchants for use.
In order to increase the enthusiasm of these people, Li Taidang signed a valuable sales contract with each of them to purchase the goods in their hands. The people of Shang Yuan produced a large amount of cloth every year. Only when they were turned into other commodities could the purchasing power of these cloths be reflected.
As for the prices of these goods, Li Tai did not let these people ask for random prices, but agreed to make a careful estimate of the goods when the transaction was carried out later. Among the palace slaves he captured from Jinyang Palace, there were many people who specialized in trading and purchasing goods with Hu merchants, and were naturally experts in the market conditions.
These merchants were also very capable. Encouraged by the huge order, they worked day and night, and it took only two days to completely decorate Li Licheng's mansion inside and out.
When Li Licheng returned to the house again, he was so shocked that he couldn't believe his eyes: "This, is this really the house before? Yaotai Immortal Palace is probably nothing more than this!"
Of course, this is just an exaggeration. After all, given the size of the mansion here, it is difficult to make it look like a palace no matter how much you decorate it. But it has to be said that these businessmen have really good aesthetics.
They are the most knowledgeable group, and due to the prosperity and development of religion from Hexi to Longyou, architectural aesthetics has also developed rapidly. Art crystallizations such as the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes can still amaze the world even after thousands of years. Nowadays, these people have brainstormed and spared no effort in decorating, making Li Licheng's house beautiful and unforgettable.
Not only Li Tai and Li Licheng were very satisfied with the decoration of their new home, but even the people sent by the Hongnong Yang family to measure the dimensions of the house in preparation for renovating the dowry after returning, could not help but be shocked and jaw-dropping after coming in to admire it, but soon they were surprised again. Make a blinding request.
"What? The wedding has to be postponed? This, this is not good. All relatives and friends have already informed everyone. If it is rescheduled rashly, it will inevitably cause inconvenience to everyone."
When he heard that Yang Su and his father Yang Fu came to ask for a change of wedding date, Li Tai's expression suddenly changed, and he immediately said with an embarrassed look. Seeing Yang Fu's eyes dodge, he asked again: "What is the reason? Now the two families are We will become a family, please don’t hide anything from me, Yang Sima?”
"It's just, it's just...Oh, my family didn't do things decently, and the dowry items they prepared were not appropriate, so, that's why... I know that this matter makes it difficult for you, but, but..."
Yang Fu lowered his head, a little embarrassed to look at Li Tai.