After making a plan with Xiahou Chun, Ren Zhen returned to the riverside military camp and began to deploy accordingly, preparing to set off for Qinghe County.The deputy general Tang was ordered to be in danger and was given the important task of temporarily taking charge of the defenders by Ren Zhen.This person is familiar with 50,000 elite soldiers and is deeply supported, and it is only fitting for him to take the lead.Led by Li Mubai, the Confucian sages and sages remained in the barracks to prevent the enemy from crossing the river again.Dao Ancestor Changsheng was seriously injured, and most of them had returned to the Southern Jin Dynasty for healing, and there was only Cao Chunfeng left on the opposite side, a powerhouse of the Eight Realms, and Li Mubai was enough to deal with it.Ren Zhen led the 10,000 tiger guards he brought with him and embarked on a journey to Qinghe County.In order to hide people's eyes, there were not many martial arts cultivators accompanying him, only Yang Xuanji, Xiuxiu and Xiahouba.Yang Xuanji was guarding by the side, and Ren Zhen's safety was not a problem.Xiahou Ba and Cui Mingjiu are senior brothers, and taking him with him is not only to let him go to his junior brother's house to eat and drink, but also to contain Xiahou Chun invisibly.As for the embroidery that was actually Yuan Mao's head, it was not Ren Zhen who invited her, but after she noticed Huwei's movements, she took the initiative to find Ren Zhen and ask about the content of this operation.At that time, Ren Zhen was embarrassed, secretive, and refused to reveal his true feelings.Xiuxiu was deeply surprised, so he persevered with Ren Zhen and joined the grain transportation army unrelentingly.In this way, Ren Zhen pushed the boat down the river, pretended to be helpless, and set off with him to Qinghe County in the northwest.Qinghe County is one of the largest grain-producing areas in the Northern Tang Dynasty, located in the Xiangjiang River Basin, and the Haiyan City in northern Hunan is equally famous, so there is a saying that the Haiyan River is clear, in order to praise the peaceful and prosperous times.The two places are also very different.Xiangbei Province was headed by the Wang family, which had been engaged in agriculture for hundreds of years, and agriculture was prosperous, and the local gentry provided financial support for the Xiling Party, and tried their best to advocate valuing agriculture and suppressing business.In contrast, Qinghe's economic industry is not single, thousands of miles of fertile fields, in addition to rice fields, a considerable part of it is used to grow cotton mulberry and sell it to all parts of the Northern Tang Dynasty.The area does not depend on agriculture for survival, and a large number of merchant consortia are active, and business is spread all over the world.Among them, the most famous is the world's first wealthy businessman, the Cui family.The Qinghe Cui family, a hundred generations of wealthy families, has a long history, unfathomable foundation, and is extremely difficult to shake.Under the management of Cui Mao, the Cui family's business became bigger and bigger, spanning food, equipment, medicine and other industries, and there was no rival in the business field.Even the imperial court did not dare to underestimate the energy of the Cui family.After all, money can make ghosts grind, and the Cui family, as the richest man, donates huge taxes every year, and has never stopped corroding and infiltrating the court officials.Even the down-and-out Sword Saint is willing to sponsor, how could the cunning Cui Mao not know how to win over the powerful.If you want to uproot the Cui family, I am afraid that the officialdom will set off a big turmoil first.To a certain extent, Qinghe County is the territory of the Cui family, and they control the right to speak in this granary.Ren Zhen's idea of fighting Qinghe to hoard grain was to break ground on the Cui family.Qinghe is rich, rich in rice over the years, and unlike Xiangbei, it was designated by the imperial court as the official grain supply, and most of the surplus grain fell into the hands of wealthy merchants and circulated in the grain markets in various places.Even if there is a severe drought this year and the harvest in the fields fails, it will not be a problem to scrape together hundreds of thousands of stone of grain from Qinghe County.The problem is that Cui Jiaken refuses to let go.Ren Zhen had a faint premonition that this grain negotiation was by no means as simple as arguing over grain prices.The group traveled lightly, after crossing the mountains of the two realms, they galloped on the plain for a whole day, and in the afternoon of the next day, they finally saw the gate of Qinghe County from a distance.After a while, the officers and soldiers defending the city slowly opened the door and let the real party enter the city.Ren Zhen ordered the tiger guards to be stationed outside the city, and he took the lead, and went straight to the official office after entering the city.He knew in his heart that the Cui family was the heaven of Qinghe, and if they gave the order to attack Huwei, these local officers and soldiers might really dare to copy the guy.Since the door is opened, it means that the Cui family is not so bold.Cui Mao must have received the news, and at this time, it is estimated that he is convening a meeting of the clan to discuss how to deal with the uninvited Blowing Water Hou.Qinghe County is very prosperous, the architecture is ancient and magnificent, with a long-standing charm.Ren Zhen came in the dust, and was not in the mood to enjoy the scenery, so he drove away the county guard named Wu Song, and unceremoniously occupied the official office, as if he had entered an inn, and took care of himself to freshen up and rest, and relieve the fatigue of the carriage and horses.He was waiting for the Cui family to make a statement.He respects him as a military marquis, holds the power of the court, and does not have to bow his head in front of the merchants.Either Cui Mao came to the door in person to ask for a meeting, or the Cui family took the initiative to send someone to invite.However, the facts let him down.Until late at night, the lights were dim, and I didn't wait for the figure of the Cui family.Even Cui Mingjiu himself didn't come to greet the teacher.The Cui family seemed to have not heard of it and ignored his arrival.This made him very embarrassed.He came this time just to talk about the grain business, and no matter how powerful he was, he couldn't use his power to bully others and act arbitrarily.In this way, he, as a teacher, can only visit his home in person.Early the next morning, he took Yang Xuanji to Cui's house.According to Ren Zhen's previous imagination, the Cui family is the richest man in the mainland, and the mansion must be magnificent and large-scale, although it is not as good as the palace, it is naturally extremely luxurious.But when he appeared in front of the mansion and looked at this somewhat dilapidated old mansion, he realized that it was difficult for an upstart like himself to understand the heritage of a century-old wealthy family.What is the heritage, disdain to show off wealth and power, this is the heritage.Wearing gold and silver to live in a mansion can only show a momentary pride.Ren Zhen knocked on the door and handed over the name post, but was not immediately invited in.I stood at the door and waited for a long time, just waiting for a word, the head of the family was in poor health, and I would apologize another day.Ren Zhen came and went in a hurry another day, just to raise food, how could there be effort to spend here, waiting for him to recover from his illness and apologize for his sins and eat a closed door, he was not reconciled, patient, and asked the servant to go to Tongyu, he wanted to meet his disciple Cui Mingjiu.He thought that this was the usual negotiation method of businessmen, and Cui Mao was deliberately pulling him away, so that when bargaining, the Cui family would take the initiative and not be too humble.However, he was wrong.After a while, the servant came out and talked back, saying that the second young master was also in poor health and could not see guests, so let them go back.This next Ren is really completely angry.Lao Tzu is sick, his son is also sick, and the family is sick if they have bird flu, even if they are closed, they can't use such an absurd excuse to blow the face of the water marquis.He was furious, and said in a cold voice: "Tell Cui Mao that if you dare to put up a fight with me again, you will be charged with colluding with kendo and rebellion, and the Cui family will be raided" This is not an imposed crime, but it is true.When Ren Zhen became a sword saint, Cui Mao wanted to step on two boats and support the sword saint to make a comeback, so he asked Cui Mingjiu to worship him as a teacher.After the Battle of the Slope Valley, the Sword Saint became a wanted criminal in the imperial court, this move was not a collusion and rebellion, and what kind of servant was trembling when he heard it, how dare he delay, and hurriedly entered the palace to spread the word.After a while, the door of the house finally opened, and the servant led the two of them to the backyard to an old house.The man said respectfully, "The second young master is inside." ”With that, he withdrew.Ren Zhen was stunned, his expression embarrassed.Dare to tear his face apart, Cui Mao still refused to show up, but agreed to let him meet Cui Mingjiu.He couldn't figure out what the Cui family was doing, so he had to go into the house.The room was dimly lit and filled with a strong, pungent smell of herbs, which was unpleasant.Ren Zhen stood in the lobby, scanning the simple layout of the room, and was full of suspicion, when a familiar voice came from the gauze tent inside."
The teacher is here" was a weak voice, more like a seriously ill and dying old man
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