Chapter 1032 Pingyang Rich Man
Qi Lord Gao Yang was in a good mood today, and he was not drunk, which was rare. He took Gao Yan's memorial and glanced at it, then smiled and said, "Has the Prince of Xianyang finished his mourning? Why didn't he come to the palace to ask for an audience?"
"Your Majesty, the Prince of Xianyang asked for an audience three times this month, on the seventh, eighth and eleventh day of the first lunar month. It was when the holy body was lying in the dragon's bed, so he was not introduced."
Although Gao Yang only asked casually, the waiter in the palace knelt down on the ground and reported in a hurry.
After hearing this, Gao Yang couldn't help showing a little embarrassment. He had been ill recently, and his condition worsened due to drinking. At the begging of his mother and wife, he vowed to quit drinking at the beginning of the month, and endured it until the fifth day of the first lunar month. In the next few days, he drank a lot and was drunk. Of course, he had no time to summon Hulugu.
But he frowned again and said, "What happened in Jinzhou recently? Who is in charge of the state? This self-proclaimed brave man is so eager to take over and even ask for it from a private door!" Although he was often drunk in recent years, he did not lose his sensitivity to power. After hearing this question, Gao Yan hurriedly bowed and said, "The King of Xianyang did not ask me for help. It was just that when I visited his residence, I happened to talk about the situation of Qiang bandits in recent years. The King of Xianyang took this opportunity to briefly discuss how to control the Qiang. My knowledge of military affairs is superficial. I am a shallow and dull person, and it is rare for me to hear such knowledgeable people talk about it. I am so happy that I recommend it to the Supreme.
At this time, Tang Yong, who was also in the palace, also said: "Your Majesty, the current governor of Jinzhou is the Prince of Changle."
"Is the son of the Wei family qualified to serve in the military state? Who makes this election? It's really ridiculous!"
After hearing this, Gao Yang frowned even deeper. Years of alcoholism have caused him a lot of damage. His thinking and memory have declined. When he heard that the governor of Jinzhou was Wei Can, he immediately felt dissatisfied and did not hide his contempt for this cousin in his words.
However, when his eyes fell on the memorial in his hand again, and then he looked at Gao Yan who was still sitting at the table, he waved his hand and said, "Jinzhou has important positions, and the personnel are simple. After returning to the court, I will call the ministers to discuss this matter again." Gao Yan nodded and said yes, not daring to say anything more. Then he was dismissed from the hall by Gao Yang who was a little impatient. As soon as he left the hall, Gao Yan heard the sound of singing and dancing in the hall again. He couldn't help but sighed, and then frowned and walked away quickly. Gao Yang did not immediately decide to let Hulugu serve as the governor of Jinzhou, but the memorial submitted by Gao Yan was like a stone falling into the water, which immediately caused ripples on the originally calm water surface. The first person to bear the brunt of this matter was naturally the other party involved in this matter, Changle Wang Wei Can, who is now the governor of Jinzhou. Jinzhou is located in a very prominent position. It is not only a major transportation route to Taiyuan area, but also a must-go route for Taiyuan area to quickly go to Heluo. To be honest, such a strategically valuable transportation route is not really a good choice for top Northern Qi nobles like Wei Can. They have too many choices in the country because of their fathers' influence, and they really don't need to take the risk of guarding such a border place.
Wei Can's appointment as Jinzhou governor was also a very accidental opportunity. Before this position was vacant, the court recommended several candidates who were not very satisfactory. In the final analysis, the opinions of the Jinyang nobles and the ruling party in the court could not reach a consensus, and it was very inappropriate for this position to be vacant for a long time, so Jinyang prepared to temporarily occupy this position with Wei Can, and then make a re-election.
Wei Can was not very willing at first. He was very comfortable in the capital, so how could he be willing to go to the border town where there were swords and shadows, and even life-threatening!
But soon after he arrived in Pingyang, he immediately opened the door to a new world. Pingyang was heavily guarded. Tens of thousands of elite Jinyang soldiers were stationed here all year round. In addition, the Pingyang Baima City was built with high walls and wide moats, so the safety was absolutely guaranteed. In addition, there was a very profitable business in this area, that is, smuggling in the border market.
When Wei Can just arrived in Jinzhou, he happened to catch several tomb robbers in the state. He thought it was just an ordinary case, but after a little questioning, he found that there was something else going on.
These tomb robbers were not digging for burial objects in the tombs, but were hired by the descendants of these tombs to dig out the bones of their ancestors.
It turned out that after the confrontation between the East and the West, the border line was changed from time to time, so there were many people living in the south and the ancestral tombs in the north. Some families had to bury their parents separately. This was naturally unfilial, so there was no shortage of people in the southern border offering a large reward in the hope of buying the remains of their ancestors in the northern border and burying their ancestors properly in the territory of Wei.
Generally speaking, the Western Wei was poor and weak while the Northern Qi was rich, but there was an exception, that is, between Fenjiang and Jiang. Most of the Northern Qi garrisons between Fenjiang and Jiang were Jinyang soldiers. Although they were also upper-level military personnel in the Northern Qi, it was impossible for all the Jinyang soldiers to be rich. Most of them just maintained a state of food and clothing.
However, most of the Western Wei garrisons here were local tyrants from Hedong, and Hedong had the benefits of salt and iron, and these local tyrants from Hedong were all well-off. In recent years, the Western Wei national strength has gradually strengthened and traded everywhere. Specifically between Fenjiang and Jiang, it was the Jinyang soldiers who were compared to the Western Wei soldiers who were quite poor.
Take these bounties for the remains of their ancestors, for example. Some wealthy families even directly offered a bounty of 100 kilograms of gold or even more. Just listening to the number is astonishing. Wei Can thought that the days he spent in Jinyang were the most luxurious in the world, but after coming to Pingyang, he found that there were people beyond people.
He was originally a person who was greedy for goods, profit, and keen on enjoyment. How could he be innocent and self-contained after coming to such a situation? So when he started from the bounty digging business, he soon developed into various core smuggling businesses. Come to the industry.
When Yucan joined the smuggling industry, he was immediately shocked beyond measure by the huge profits.
There are gorgeous and exquisite Sichuan brocades, fragrant spices, exquisite gold and silverware, colorful jewelry, as well as crystal-white icing sugar, brightly colored pigments and various sea and land treasures. The variety is dazzling.
Some of these goods have been seen by Yucan before, and some even he has never heard of. Just seeing them can make people feel a huge sense of happiness, not to mention that there are also amazing profits contained in them.
Although these goods are already expensive in Fenjiang, if compared with the prices sold in Jinyang market, they are just like picking up for free.
Wei Can only stayed in Pingyang for more than a year, but the profits he made from the smuggling trade had already exceeded the many years he had served in other prefectures and counties in Dasuo Countryside, extortionate expropriation, plus his own food, salary, and rewards. The total wealth of the family! Compared with those other businesses in the past, this is the real big meal!
Precisely because of this amazing profit, Wei Can also changed from being resistant at the beginning to now being happy not to miss Shu. How could he be willing to give up such a good position that could produce gold or even gold mountains to others!
In fact, as early as two months after he took office as the governor of Jinzhou, Jinyang was preparing to replace him with Shedi Huiluo, the governor of Jianzhou, as the governor of Jinzhou, but Wei Can refused. Not only did he no longer mention returning to the imperial court, he even repeatedly stated that he was willing to stay in Jinzhou forever.
Because sitting in Jinzhou not only brought Wei Can an astonishing increase in wealth, but also increased his weight in the current situation. Although he was quite respected among the nobles of Jinyang because of his birth, it was more of a kind of vanity. Even after the death of his mother, it was difficult to maintain this vanity.
The current emperor is strong and stern, and the empress dowager is not very close to Wei Can's family. Before he became the governor of Jinzhou, Wei Can had been idle for a long time, otherwise he would not be like a brick being thrown away when needed. Feel free to place it here.
After mastering this financial source, Wei Can used it to bribe the Queen Mother and other Jinyang nobles, and thus won an excellent reputation. Even when she returned to Jinyang on the occasion of the New Year this year, the Empress Dowager personally invited him to the side table, and she was even closer than her nephews of the Lou family.
On this day, a new batch of goods was transported from Fenbei to Pingyang, because some Jinyang dignitaries asked Yucan to help them buy some precious commodities, such as pigments used for painting murals in mausoleums. As the Monan Trade Road became increasingly weak, the Fenshui Trade Road that followed became one of the few channels for purchasing goods.
Some honorable nobles themselves are not very good in character, but they are also the most filial people. When they know that higher-quality funeral objects are provided, of course they also hope to provide better things for their ancestors. Some even die at home because the funeral objects are not to their liking. The coffin of my relative was not buried for a long time.
Yucan can satisfy the needs of these people, not only can he benefit greatly from this, but he can also accumulate favors. Therefore, he is also very concerned about this. Every time the goods arrive, he will personally inspect them to ensure that there are no mistakes.
"Master Sir, the current price of this purchase has increased by another 10%."
When Wei Can came to an arsenal that had been vacated as a warehouse, his servants came forward to report the bad news.
After hearing this, Wei Can immediately frowned and cursed: "These thieves and Qiang are really cunning and greedy. Sooner or later, they will cross Fenshui and kill them all!"
Even so, he still sneered in his heart. Although the Wei people opposite were also greedy and would increase the price every time, it was only an increase of 10%. The price of the goods has doubled since the transaction, but he could not imagine it at all. If you don’t realize how much profit he has made from this, it is obvious that he is short-sighted!
After checking the goods, Wei Can arranged for personnel to transport them to the country. However, at this time, another bad news came, that is, King Changshan recommended Hu Luguang to be the governor of Jinzhou.
"What does King Changshan mean? He Lu Mingyue can't find work and salary anywhere, but he comes to my place to cause trouble. It's really hateful!"
Weican cursed angrily, and immediately stopped the team that was about to set off, and added a lot of precious goods and treasures to be transported to various families in Jinyang and Yedu, in order to use this Jinyuan offensive to retain his position as the governor of Jinzhou.