Chapter 204: Beyond the words, the afternoon is beautiful (more updates added)

Chapter 204: Beyond the words, the afternoon is beautiful (more updates added)

Chapter 204: A beautiful afternoon in the ambiguity (additional update)

With the announcement of "Pei Changshi has arrived", the laughter in the room suddenly stopped. Pei Xingjian walked in with a smile, and saw Qu Zhizhan sitting behind the desk, still smiling as usual. Qu Chongyu, who was in front of the case, saw Pei Xingjian and smiled slightly with his eyebrows raised, "Pei Changshi came late, he should be punished!"

The tall figure who was originally standing with his back to the door paused for a moment, then slowly turned around, with a face that looked like a smile but not a smile, "Keep your promise, I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Pei Xingjian took two steps and hugged his hands. "It turns out to be Brother Ziyu. What a surprise! Brother Ziyu came to Yizhou with General Su?"

Su Nanjin's eyes fell on Pei Xingjian's face, and his eyes narrowed slightly subconsciously. Wasn't it because his father and son were sent to Yizhou because of him? He was still a little confused at first, until his father asked in detail what happened that day, and then he slapped him awake - the Hu girl who claimed to be Su Dingfang's adopted daughter and Wu Zhaoyi's painter turned out to be Pei Shouyue's wife! No one in Chang'an knew about this, but he had not returned to Chang'an for more than a year, so he was kept in the dark. Pei Shouyue remained calm at the time. It turned out that he had set a trap for himself to jump into! What's deplorable is that this incident also affected his father, who was once again sent to such a barbaric place, and he became a ninth-grade Izhou military soldier!

Su Nanjin took a slight breath before laughing, "Exactly, I never imagined that the emperor's grace would allow me to serve under my father. Now that my father has been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the former army of Congshan Road, I came to Xizhou with orders to check it out. Preparing for the war will bother me for a few days."

Pei Xingjian still smiled slightly, "I can't get it."

Qu Chongyu looked at Pei Xingjian and then at Su Nanjin, his eyes were rather playful, and he smiled softly, "Mr. Su, Mr. Pei is in charge of the money, grain and taxes in Xizhou. If you have any business, just ask the chief minister. , I don’t know much about it, but if you want to know which wine is the best in Xizhou, and where the singing and dancing are the most beautiful, Chongyu can tell you something."

Seeing that Pei Xingjian didn't say anything, Su Nanjin was obviously acquiescing to the matter, and was slightly shocked. Just now, when Qu Chongyu said that he didn't know how much money and food he had, he thought it was just a modest comment. He naturally knew what had happened in the past few months. Things happened, and he became more and more wary of Pei Xingjian's methods, but he didn't expect that he would actually ignore the Qu family and his son!

After thinking about it for a few times, he still smiled and said, "Keep the promise, let's talk about business first and then talk about personal friendship. I wonder how much food and grass Xizhou has prepared for this army?"

Pei Xingjian looked calm, "We have prepared 50,000 stones of corn and 10,000 carts of fodder and grain. They will be ready by the end of the month. When the army arrives, it can be transported to the military warehouse at any time."

Su Nanjin's brows suddenly raised high, "Is it a joke to keep the promise? Xizhou has a population of nearly 40,000, so they only prepared 50,000 grains. Yizhou, with a population of less than 10,000, also prepared more than 20,000 stones. The army marched westward. It is an important task for the country. Keep your promise and don’t make fun of the army’s food and fodder!”

Qu Chongyu frowned. Although he had never asked about this matter publicly, he was always paying attention to it in private. In recent years, the weather has been good, and corn in Xizhou cost only more than a hundred dollars a dou, and in Dunhuang and other places it was even lower. Pei Xingjian raised military rations this time, but the price he offered was three hundred cents for one stone of corn after it was shipped to the military warehouse, which was almost double. This caused merchants in Xizhou to rush to buy. He vaguely heard that the price was one hundred thousand yuan. How come it turned out to be fifty thousand stones when it came into his mouth? Just as he was about to speak, Qu Zhizhan already smiled and said, "Yu Lang, go and tell me to bring some plum syrup in. Mr. Su has worked hard all the way and needs to relieve the heat."

Qu Chongyu was startled, and when he saw the faint gaze cast by Qu Zhizhan, he had to bow his head in response, and walked out to order his entourage.

Pei Xingjian's face was full of embarrassment, and he sighed after a long while, "To be honest with Ziyu, Xizhou is no more sparsely populated than Yizhou. It really has more people and less land. I've been having a headache for the past two months. Various methods have been tried, such as collecting grain at high prices and using merchants. Originally, they were prepared based on 100,000 dan, but now they are only confident about 50,000 dan. If the summer harvest rent and the grain storage in Xizhou are included, it will be about 60,000 dan. "

When Qu Chongyu came back, he heard these words and couldn't help but feel suspicious. He couldn't help but glance at his father. Qu Zhizhan shook his head invisibly. He was moved in his heart and stood aside.

Su Nanjin sneered in her heart, and when she glanced out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Qu Zhizhan was still looking like a smiling Buddha, as if he didn't seem to think that the matter of food and grass had anything to do with him. Qu Chongyu was looking at the inkstone on the table in a daze. He also had a look of indifference on his face, and felt even more relieved. He looked at Pei Xingjian and sighed, "To be honest, I am also aware of the difficulty. It's just that this time there are 100,000 troops, and General Cheng gave it to my father. It is strictly ordered that before the arrival of the army, the three prefectures of Xi, Ting, and Yi must prepare military rations at the cost of three stones per mouth. Violators will be punished by military orders. Only then did my father order me to inform the governor and the governor that it must be done before July , prepare this number.”

 One hundred and twenty thousand shi? Pei Xingjian's eyes showed some genuine astonishment, and he remained silent for a while, but Su Nanjin laughed, "Don't worry about Shou, my father also knows that Shou and I have an old covenant, so he specially ordered me to come and help you."

Pei Xingjian glanced at him in surprise, "Brother Ziyu..."

Su Nanjin raised his head slightly and said, "I have been ordered to bring three hundred elite soldiers to accompany me. I will keep my promise and try my best to collect grain and grass. When it is stored in the warehouse before July, I will send troops to the countryside to collect grain if there is any shortage!"

As soon as the words "sending troops into the countryside to collect grain" came out, even Qu Chongyu turned his head in surprise. The cruel meaning behind this word was no stranger to Xizhou people. Pei Xingjian's expression changed slightly, "Absolutely no, I will keep my promise and do my best to hand over the corn, it's just 120,000 dan..." This amount was indeed beyond his expectation.

Su Nanjin sighed, "Keeping the promise is indeed a bodhisattva's heart, Ziyu admires it, but the military orders are like mountains, there is no room for negotiation. Don't worry about keeping the promise, you do your best first, before July, if you can hand in all the orders, you will naturally be the best Well, if there is a shortage then, even if I try to get a bad name, I can’t just sit back and watch you being dealt with by General Manager Cheng’s military law!”

Looking at Pei Xingjian's frowning expression, Su Nanjin couldn't help but feel satisfied: He was making waves in Xizhou, but he didn't expect that this trick was waiting for him, right? This was a strategy that my father came up with after hearing about Pei Xingjian's fire. The amount of three stones per mouth was also proposed by his father to General Cheng. There were few people in Yizhou, but there was a lot of land. After two forced conquests, he finally received 20,000 More than four thousand stones, but with the land of Xizhou, it is more difficult to get this food than to climb to the sky. In this way, first use the cruelty of military law to intimidate, and then use the act of harvesting food to show favor. At the same time, it also wipes out the hope that Pei Shouyue had established in Xizhou. Killing three birds with one stone can be regarded as the first harvest for Pei Shouyue. Some interest.

Pei Xingjian was silent for a moment and nodded, "I appreciate Ziyu's kindness. Can you please allow me a few more days to do this?"

Su Nanjin shook his head, "Before the Zhongyuan Dynasty, the army will definitely arrive. Even if I want to help keep the promise for a few days, military law does not tolerate mercy. Keeping the promise cannot take any chances!"

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became dull, and even the smile on Qu Zhizhan's face dropped. A cautious voice sounded outside at the right time, "Your Majesty, will the plum syrup be delivered immediately?"

Qu Chongyu looked at Su Nanjin with a smile, "Now that Mr. Su has finished talking about the business, let's try the plum syrup from Liuzhong County first!"

The plum juice cooled by the well water is sour and sweet, and when it enters the throat, it is like a line of ice, which makes people feel relieved from the heat. Qu Chongyu casually talked about some romantic things such as plum picking girls, and the atmosphere in the room slowly relaxed. down.

Pei Xingjian couldn't stand still. He pondered for a moment and then said, "Qudu Protector, I'd better go ahead and tell your subordinates to go around to collect food and grass." Then he smiled apologetically at Su Nanjin, "Ziyu, I'm sorry, I'll wait until I have free time." , I’ll definitely treat you to a good drink.”

Su Nanjin smiled lightly and said, "It is admirable to keep the promise and be diligent in the king's affairs."

Qu Chongyu raised his brows frivolously, "Keeping the promise is disappointing! I also have to give Young Master Su a banquet to welcome him. Besides, this is Young Master Su's first visit to Xizhou, so there should be someone to show him around. Are you going to hide?"

A wry smile appeared on Pei Xingjian's face, "I'm afraid the officials in the world don't have much free time these days, and they have to bother the prince." After saying this, he hugged the three people, turned around and left, but suddenly stopped when he was approaching the door. , turned around and said with a smile, "I almost forgot, Mr. Su is not an outsider. General Su was Bi Guogong's favorite general at that time. He went to the Western Regions with the general twice. I'm afraid he has also been here in Xizhou." , Mr. Su’s family background means he will not be too unfamiliar with Xizhou.”

The dark green door curtain fell leisurely, but Su Nanjin's heart suddenly wandered up: before he came, his father had repeatedly confessed that he had conquered Gaochang under the command of General Ashina Sheer, and he must not do anything about it. Mentioned to the Qu family and his son. After all, the name Ashina Sheer is unforgettable to the Qu family. At that time, Ashinasheer defeated Xue Yantuo and led his remaining troops to defect to the Gaochang Kingdom. He was taken in by the leader Qu Wentai. Later, he switched to the Tang Dynasty and became the consort of the Tang Dynasty. Unexpectedly, he led troops together with Hou Junji within a few years. After Gaochang was destroyed, Qu Wentai died of fear. How could such hatred between the country and the family be erased in more than ten years?

His father did go on the Western Expedition with the army, but his position was not high at that time, and his meritorious service was not obvious. I thought that no one would notice it, but I didn't expect that Pei Xingjian actually remembered these old things, and he was singled out openly. !

Su Nanjin couldn't help but raise her eyes to look at the Qu family and his son, and saw that both of them were a little shocked, but Qu Zhizhan sighed first, "It turns out that Mr. Su has such a connection with Xizhou. When I returned to Chang'an with the Tang army, it was I have never heard of your father's name. I think your reputation was still unknown at that time. Speaking of the time when Gaochang City was destroyed and Hou Jun gathered his troops to loot, if it weren't for Bi Guogong still harboring some old feelings and restraining his troops, we would not have done anything wrong. What a situation it will end up in, this matter is so tragic, it’s okay not to mention it!" He let out a long sigh.

Qu Chongyu also remained silent for a while, sighing.

Su Nanjin felt slightly relieved. It seemed that the Qu family and his son were sensible people and did not shy away from talking about this matter, but they did not hold grudges blindly. He smiled and said, "Exactly. At that time, my father was only responsible for military supplies and could not even enter the city of Gaochang. Later, he served as governor in Shazhou for several years and went with the army to conquer Qiuci. That time he became a vanguard. Now that he has returned to Yizhou, he has some connections with Xijiang."

Qu Chongyu smiled and said, "Isn't it true that General Su has been in Western Xinjiang longer than me?"

 At this moment, in the main hall of the Protectorate, the sound of talking and laughing started again, which was a little louder than before. But when Qu Chongyu warmly invited Su Nanjin to stay in his residence, Su Nanjin waved his hand after hesitating for a moment, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty. It's just that Su has soldiers with him, so he can't live alone. It's better to go out of the city and go back to the camp to settle down today." . "As the saying goes, people's hearts are unpredictable. He originally planned to interact more with the Qu family and his son, so that he could deal with Pei Shouyue. But now we have to be more careful.

Qu Chongyu looked regretful and made an appointment for tomorrow's banquet. He sent him out with a smile. When he turned around, his face darkened. He snorted coldly and said to Qu Zhizhan, "Pei Shouyue has been separated for a long time." The plan was too clumsy. Although Ashina Sheer deserved his death, he thought that our Qu family would hate everyone who had sent troops to Gaochang and would never interact with each other until death. If so, how could we still live in Chang'an? Until now? Father, don’t worry, your son won’t be confused!”

The smile on Qu Zhizhan's face had long since faded, and he was lost in thought as he looked at the fluttering door curtain, "Whether the divorce plan is clumsy or not depends on who is using it. To deal with this Mr. Su, I'm afraid this is enough. Now we are "You don't mind at all, how can he believe it?" Qu Chongyu knew that this was true, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "It seems that Mr. Su and Pei Xingjian have a deep grudge, and these 120,000 shi of food seem to be aimed at him." My son, I need someone to find out what the reason behind their feud is. Furthermore, I need someone to find out how much of the 120,000 stones Pei can raise to keep the promise. The difference will be found out immediately. The public land was replenished, and the official Mi Lu of Xizhou was suspended, and then people were sent to the southern countries to purchase it. "Thinking that July is only 20 days away, if the difference is tens of thousands, it will not be easy to transport it from the surrounding areas. He couldn't help frowning and said in a cold tone, "They Tang people just fight openly and secretly among themselves, but they actually use Xizhou people to attack!"

Qu Zhizhan looked at him and sighed, "This matter concerns the people of Xizhou. You still have to keep an eye on the Great Buddha Temple. As long as Pei Xingjian's actions have no results, let him come to see me immediately to pay for it. Let me tell you! We need to start collecting food immediately.”

Qu Chongyu nodded, "Son, I'll let someone else do it." After thinking about it, he sneered, "Let's do it with great fanfare!"

　　…………

"Twenty thousand shi?" Anzaburo stood up with a "Teng" sound, "This is unreasonable! This time we received 60,000 shi, grain and rice in Xizhou. We have already used our own magic. If we want to collect another 20,000 shi, It’s not like we can’t find it, but I’m afraid... if we transport it from other places, we can collect some money by sending people over now, but the time is too short, and the money and silk will be too expensive, and it’s also a bit risky.”

Pei Xingjian nodded silently. He naturally knew that it was cheapest to collect grain locally in Xizhou. The merchants would naturally do their best. Now, except for some rich people, I am afraid that no one in Xizhou would have much food left. Able to harvest by force, "I've done the calculations. There are still several thousand shi of grain left in various granaries in Xizhou. If we add in the income from the public fields, we can make up to 10,000 shi. Is there still ten thousand left..." He was about to say that he could find another way. , saw a hesitant look suddenly appeared on Ansaburo's face, and couldn't help but change his words, "Does Sanlang have any ideas?"

Anzaburo stroked his beard sheepishly, "Actually, the actual harvest of rice by us people is 110,000 shi."

Pei Xingjian was startled for a moment, and then suddenly realized, "You did something wrong when you collected the grain! Did you..."

Anzaburo hurriedly said, "You also know that there are big rules in the military warehouse. If you encounter someone who is difficult to talk to, you will be deducted 20%. We can't do it, so we leave some margin when collecting. This is also a rule. Fortunately this time The price of harvesting grain is already 20% higher than in previous years, so the farmers don't care... If Jiulang is sure that it will be measured fairly when entering the warehouse, 110,000 dan will still be enough. "

Pei Xingjian breathed out, with a smile on his face, "Don't worry, I'll make the arrangements." His fingers turned the lid of the silver pot on the desk intentionally or unintentionally, "It's not that difficult to make people dare not play tricks! "

 Yasaburo's eyes lit up, "This is even better!" In this way, they, the businessmen, can also earn 10% more income, wouldn't everyone be happy? His eyes narrowed with laughter, but he didn't see Pei Xingjian glance at the high window to the north, frown slightly, then relaxed, and said in a loud voice, "Invite Cang Cao to join the army and Hu Cao to join the army." Come and discuss matters!”

On this day, when Pei Xingjian returned home, it was almost early afternoon. The hottest part of the day had just passed, but the room was even hotter than at noon. Pei Xingjian loosened the belt on his robe as soon as he entered the door. The room was quiet. He opened the curtain and walked into the inner room, only to see Liuli taking a nap on the bedside. Most of the book in her hand had slipped onto her skirt. The skirt was slightly loose and a few strands of her hair were loose. , against the snow-white cheeks and long eyelashes, it is actually a style that I have never seen before.

Pei Xingjian stared at it for a moment, but Liuli's head suddenly dropped a little, and she leaned back again, her brows wrinkled uncomfortably, and the book also slipped out of her palm little by little. He couldn't help but laugh, walked over lightly, picked up a strand of her hair that was scattered and gently swept it on her cheek. Liuli subconsciously reached out and waved, and the book in her hand suddenly fell to the ground with a "pop" sound. With a sound, she opened her eyes. Seeing Pei Xingjian's smiling face so close at hand, she couldn't help but be startled. Her usually clear and lively eyes were blank.

Pei Xingjian's chest felt hot. He lowered his head and kissed the eyes. With a little force on his hand, he pulled her into his arms. The belt, which was already somewhat loose, quickly slipped between his fingers. Her skin was soft and cool, but he felt that the fire in his body was burning more and more uncontrollably, and the strength in his hands became stronger unknowingly.

Liuli's mind that had just woken up was suddenly a little confused again. It was hard to think of something else, and she quickly tilted her head back and said, "Keep the promise, keep the promise, wait." His lips had already been sealed, with a startling tone. The enthusiasm and the determination that cannot be refused. Liuli's reason disappeared silently between his lingering lips and teeth and fiery fingers, and she reached out and hugged his back...

After a long time, when Pei Xingjian got up from the bed, Liuli felt that she didn't even bother to open her eyelids, but the reason that had returned to her mind really didn't allow her to fall asleep as usual. She gritted her teeth and sat up anyway. Pei Xingjian poured wine from the pot. After getting some water and wet the cloth, he looked back and saw her, he was startled, "Just rest."

Liuli smiled and said, "I have something to give you."

Pei Xingjian looked at her tired face and couldn't help but laugh and cry, "Can't you send me off after you have a rest?"

Liuli shook her head resolutely, "I won't be able to deliver it after a while!" She stood up, paused briefly before walking to the door, and said in a loud voice, "Xiao Tan, quickly deliver the green plum wine that is frozen in the well."

Pei Xingjian raised his eyebrows in surprise. He really didn't understand why she was so anxious to let herself drink. When he followed her out, he noticed that there were several pots lined up on the dining table outside, including exquisite gilt silver pots, painted glass pots, and a simple copper pot.

After a while, Xiaotan came in with a dripping earthenware pot. Liuli asked her to fill the pots on the table with brown plum wine one by one, and put the lids on the pots. Xiaotan smiled and said, " The lady is playing with these pots again!”

Liuli waved her hands and said nothing. Xiaotan looked at him curiously for a few times before walking out. Pei Xingjian looked at the pots, and then at Liuli, who was staring at the pots seriously. He felt something was wrong, and sat down next to the table.

Not long after, he saw water faintly flowing on the outermost glass pot. Pei Xingjian was surprised and hurriedly stretched out his hand to touch it. He felt that his fingertips were slightly moist. Sure enough, there was water. Then he looked at the copper and silver pots. , it didn’t look too strange, but when I touched it carefully with my fingers, there was clearly a slight feeling of water.

Pei Xingjian looked down at his fingertips, then took out a snow-white handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the copper pot carefully, and confirmed that there were wet marks on the handkerchief. Then he looked up at Liuli in confusion, "Liuli, this is what happened?"

Liuli sighed inwardly. It was very simple. This was because the water vapor in the air condensed back into water when it was cold. But if he said it like this, he would definitely think he was sick and get confused. She smiled and shook her head, "I don't know what happened. When I served Luo Jian in a glass bowl at noon today, I suddenly felt that there seemed to be water on the bowl. Then I remembered that in the palace, if ice is used in summer, the cup It will become moist, and sometimes there will be water droplets dripping down. The water in Xizhou Well is deep and cold, so I simply tried it a few times with well water. Sure enough, no matter whether it is a glass pot, a copper pot or a silver pot, I just need to pour it into it. When the well is full of water, it will become slightly moist outside after a while. When we are outside at noon, the water will be more obvious than this. I think if I put ice cubes in, it might be even more moist. "

Pei Xingjian's eyes were still fixed on the copper pot in his hand. As he was talking, the color of the copper pot that had just been wiped dry with a handkerchief became a little moister again. The hollow bronze Buddha, the only ice cellar in Xizhou... He closed his eyes, shook his head and laughed, "I see! Why didn't I remember it?"

He opened his eyes and looked at Liuli with a smile. He suddenly slammed the copper pot on the table, stood up, picked her up, and spun her around the room several times, laughing loudly.

Liuli suddenly felt dizzy and hugged his neck tightly, "Don't turn around, stop turning around!"

Pei Xingjian put her down and kissed her **** the face, "Liu Li, you helped me a lot again!"

Liuli didn't dare to let go, she closed her eyes and said with a smile, "You still don't want to repay your kindness, so you tie a grass ring around it so that I don't have to work all day in vain?"

Pei Xingjian laughed loudly, "I dare to disobey the lady's words! It's just that I have to borrow a pot from the lady first."

Liuli thought for a moment and smiled, "I won't borrow the copper pot."

Pei Xingjian smiled and sighed, "Just borrow half a day."

Liuli shook her head, "I won't borrow it for even a moment, unless..." She looked at Pei Xingjian with a smile, and kept her mouth shut to stop what she was going to say.

   Thank you all for being pink these days, so Alan also added a more heartwarming scene in advance, wishing everyone a good mood every day in 2012! Hehe, I hope everyone will hit me with pink again. When I'm in a good mood, I can write faster.

Ashina Sheer was a famous general in the early Tang Dynasty, but this loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty was an out-and-out white-eyed wolf to Gaochang. In addition, Su Haizheng did indeed go to Kucha with Ashina Sheer to the west and served as the vanguard.

　　

　　

 (End of this chapter)