Chapter 570 Chapter Six

In the quiet inner hall of Rongda University, Xu Ziling was teaching his second lesson after arriving in Chang'an.Yesterday, I mainly listened to Chen Fu, the host of Rongda, talk about Pingyao's customs and living habits, and learned his Pingyao accent by the way.In terms of language, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong are both talented people. They can speak Turkic very quickly, so it is natural that they can speak with some local accents. The round table was full of things from the pawn business such as "money pledge posts", "money tickets" and "account books". When Xu Ziling was dazzled by the sight, Chen Fu, who was sitting on the other side of the table, said: "Our pawn business can be described in four words. To describe it, it means making money with wealth, lending wealth for interest, and making money with high interest rates. You can borrow on credit or use mortgages to lend. Collateral can range from movable properties such as gems and jade, to immovable properties such as house title deeds, or even personal life as collateral.”

Xu Ziling was stunned and said, "How to use a person's body as a mortgage? If there is no money to pay back, can you sell the person?" Chen Fu was thin and had a horse face. He was in his fifties, his temples were quite tall and his temples were gray. You can work to pay off your debts, and if the mortgage is a beautiful woman, you can even sell it into a brothel. But Changan Rongda will never do this kind of thing, but in remote places in towns, I can't guarantee that such things will not happen. It is very difficult for the government to intervene if you like me or not. What's more, to open a pawnshop, we must first open up the joints of the government.

Xu Ziling's confidence increased sharply when he heard this, but the use of people as a bet was very attractive to the Xiang family, and they could openly trade people in the future.Frowning, he asked, "How did the pawn business start?" Chen Fu said lightly: "The pawn business was very popular in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and it originated from the temple treasury system of Buddhist temples." Xu Ziling said in astonishment: "How can it be related to Buddhist temples? How can Buddhist temples do money-making activities, isn't it against the monk's four things?"

Chen Fu smiled and said: "Don't monks need to eat? The monastery has accumulated a lot of wealth through donations from all walks of life. In order to maintain the lives of many monks, carry out various religious activities, repair and expand the monastery, it is impossible to do without money, so I thought of this. The way to make money is to make money by lending money." After a pause, he continued: "As for whether it violates the original intention of Buddhism, I don't know. But at least the 'Endless Storage' in the Buddhist scriptures has 'the life is endless, and its benefits are endless', 'then the six groups should be kind , Sowing interest, or taking or giving, or giving birth or quality' records, so that monks can lend money with peace of mind and make profits for the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Three Jewels of the Sangha."

Xu Ziling's ears widened when he heard this, and he asked, "There must be a lot of competition in such a profitable industry. How can Situ Furong stand out and become the owner of the largest pawnshop industry in the country?" Chen Fu said happily: "In this respect, everyone should admire the big boss. The reason why he is so successful is because of the two new businesses of launching 'Gu Dian' and issuing 'Money Tickets'. Gu Dian is not limited to rice grains, but It is widely used and other grain products, which are especially popular in rural villages and towns. Just imagine that grain and goods can be exchanged for money. Although the price is much lower than that of direct trading, the convenience and emergency are unmatched by other trade methods.”

"As for money tickets, it can be said to be a kind of gift to businessmen. The method is that pawnshops issue coupons to replace currency and circulate in the market. They can be cashed at any time, and we can earn a 'discount'." Xu Ziling understood, no wonder that the pawnbroker industry is the most important business reputation, so the Xiang family may be able to surpass Situ Furong in terms of financial resources, but because they are equated with brothels and gambling houses, and have a background in human trafficking, they will be attacked by politicians at any time. The mopping up is closed, who will trust the "money tickets" they issue.

The more you know about the pawnbrokering industry, the more confident you are that you can get Xiangjia to take the bait. Therefore, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that Xiangjia can use to perform the great law of "changing the sky and changing the sun". Chen Fu said: "Good! Now it's your turn to understand our management and operation methods." Xu Ziling smiled bitterly in his heart, so he had to force himself to cheer up, listen attentively, and work hard to pretend to be Situ Furong. In the study of the imperial palace, Wang Shichong in a dragon robe finished reading Dou Jiande's secret letter, and handed it to Wang Xuanying who was sitting at the lower right for him to read it too, and said with a frown, "Why does Dou Jiande help me deal with Li Shimin?"

Kou Zhong hadn't answered yet, Wang Xuanying read Dou Jiande's letter and said with a sneer without raising his head, "Maybe tigers are rejected by the front door and wolves are entered by the back door!" Kou Zhong was furious immediately, and was about to stand up, Wang Xuanshu, who was sitting next to Kou Zhong, hurriedly said: "Now King Xia and our Dazheng are close by each other, if Luoyang falls, the next..." Wang Shichong cut him off and said, "How could Luoyang fall? Li Shimin has always been good at attacking from the back. That's how Xue Ju and his son and Song Jingang were defeated by him. I will use the same way to deal with him today. When he can't attack for a long time and retreat At that time, it was the moment when his entire army was wiped out."

Although Kou Zhong has absolutely no affection for Wang Shichong, he has to admit that this is the correct strategy to deal with Li Shimin's army. The question is whether Zheng Jun can hold on to that moment. Wang Shichong stared at Kou Zhong with twinkling eyes, and did not speak immediately, while Wang Xuanying threw Dou Jiande's letter on the table next to him without respect, and looked at Kou Zhong, who was opposite to Wang Shichong's left, with a sneer on his face.Wang Xuanshu had no choice but to smile wryly, and kept silent, the study was filled with an embarrassing atmosphere.

Suddenly Wang Shichong looked up to the sky with a long smile, and said: "Young commander is so concerned about my Da Zheng's affairs, I am very grateful. If Li Shimin came to attack a year earlier, I might be in a hurry, but after a whole year of preparations, I am fully confident that I will fight this battle .Now my Luoyang soldiers are well-stocked, as long as I can defend until the heavy snowfall in winter, how can Li Shimin persevere?" Kou Zhong was surprised, the last time he saw Wang Shichong, at least on the surface, the old fox treated him very politely, but this time his attitude has changed drastically, what is he relying on?Or, as he said, he has full confidence in winning this battle.

Kou Zhong felt dejected with nothing to say, and said with a wry smile: "Is the Holy Majesty going to issue an order to expel me?" Wang Xuanshu looked at his father in shock. Wang Shichong sighed: "Young Marshal is really a person I admire very much, but unfortunately he can't be used by me, Wang Shichong. The bigger problem is that the Young Marshal has become a member of the Song family in Lingnan. Song Que has always been hostile to people of foreign origin. He is incompatible, young commander, please tell me how to trust you?" Kou Zhongdao: "There are priorities. If you, my lord, are fully confident that you can deal with Li Shimin alone, then of course you have nothing to say. But the truth is before you. All those who were confident and thought they could deal with Li Shimin were all defeated in the end." It was proved to be wrong, if I were the Holy One, I would not have cut off my retreat before going to war, I would say everything I want to say! As for what to do, I will ask the Holy One to decide." Wang Shichong smiled and said: "We have worked together to defeat Li Mi, this time we can join forces to teach Li Shimin a big defeat. Don't be suspicious, young commander, but everyone must speak out what is in their hearts first." Wang Xuanying said indifferently: "Repelling Li Shimin, how will it benefit the young commander?" Kou Zhong really wanted to punch Wang Xuanying in the face, to see what his pale little face would look like afterwards, this person didn't know the general idea, and he still held a grudge against him because of the humiliation of being captured twice, after taking a deep breath, Shen Sheng said: "Can you turn it around and say, if Li Shimin captures Luoyang, what harm will it do to me, Kou Zhong?" Wang Shichong showed displeasure, and snorted coldly, "Young commander, please speak up." Kou Zhong looked at Wang Shichong instead of looking at Wang Xuanying.He said: "If Luoyang falls, Dou Jiande will be forced to retreat to Hebei. At that time, Li Shimin only needs to send him any general in Tiance Mansion, and Luoyang will be as solid as gold. At that time, the first person Li Shimin wants to kill is not Dou Jiande but I am Kou Zhong." Wang Xuanying said: "Did the young commander overestimate the importance of himself in Li Shimin's heart? Dou Jiande has 400,000 troops, while the young commander's army is only tens of thousands, and there is no strong city to defend." Kou Zhong responded to his mocking gaze, smiled and said: "This is not an important issue, but a strategic issue. If Li Shimin captures Luoyang, the Tang Dynasty of the Li Clan will gain momentum, and some people who are at the helm will open the way, Luo Yi and his like had no choice but to scramble to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, so that Dou Jiande could not move. With the establishment of a naval fleet, coupled with Du Fuwei's Jianghuai army to respond, the southern heroes were left to be slaughtered. At that time, Dou Jiande's only way to survive was to attack Luo. He met Li Shimin, who was the best city defender in the world. What will be the result of the echo in the middle? It seems that there is no need for the younger brother to say it!" Wang Xuanying was speechless because what he said was all the truth, and it was something that Wang Xuanying never thought about. Wang Xuanshu's eyes shot admiringly, and he couldn't stop nodding. Wang Shichong's eyes were bright, and he had to agree to nod, saying: "Young Marshal has a very thorough view of the whole situation, but Luoyang will not fall." Kou Zhong said with a smile: "Since the Holy Majesty pointed out that we should speak the truth, then I am not polite. How can the Holy Majesty be so confident?" Wang Shichong said with confidence: "Because the young commander has calculated thousands of times, he still leaked the internal variables of the Li family. If Li Shimin can conquer Luoyang in one fell swoop, of course there will be no problem. If he can't attack for a long time, other enemies will be ready to move. Li Yuan may Change your mind and order Li Shimin to retreat, does the young commander understand what I mean?" Kou Zhong was startled, and suddenly realized that the reason why Wang Shichong was so confident was because he secretly got support from the Turkic people. Because of this, he did not take Dou Jiande's aid seriously.When Li Shimin besieged Luoyang, as long as Jieli helped Liang Shidu's generation to attack Taiyuan again, Li Shimin had no choice but to retreat and return to the pass. After staring at each other for a while, he and Wang Shichong laughed, leaned back on the back of the chair and sighed: "If the Holy Majesty really thinks so, it will fall into the trap of the Turkic people." Wang Shichong's expression changed for the first time, and he said displeasedly: "What does the Turks have to do with me? How could I fall into the tricks of the Turks?" Kou Zhong smiled and said, "Of course I don't know what the relationship between the Holy Majesty and the Turkic people is. I just hope that the relationship is not established through Zhao Deyan or Daming Zunjiao as a bridge. One day, Jieli will join forces with other tribes outside the Great Wall to attack Yes, but it definitely won’t happen within the past few months. I just came back from outside the Great Wall, and I may know the situation outside the Great Wall better than you.” Wang Xuanshu couldn't help but asked, "What's the current situation outside the Great Wall?" Kou Zhongdao: "It can be described in a random word. Under the pressure of Bi Xuan, Tuli was forced to make peace with Jieli, but both sides were exhausted due to the battle of Benlangyuan and the establishment of the country in Bohai, and they were reorganizing their positions. Before establishing a new relationship with other ethnic groups, you will never dare to act rashly. If I expected correctly, Xieli expressed support for you, Dazheng. What I am afraid of is that you will surrender without a fight, so that Li Shimin can take it without a single soldier. At that time, the control of the Yellow River could be obtained with ease. For Xieli, the most ideal would be Li Shimin’s vitality was severely injured by the attack on Luoyang. position, and then gradually erode, to complete the dream of sweeping the Central Plains." There was a leaden silence in the study. Staring at Kou Zhong, Wang Shichongnian let out a long breath and said, "Xieli has no promises to me." He spoke this sentence weakly, obviously insincere, which made Kou Zhong know that he guessed right. Wang Xuanying said in a deep voice: "What did the young commander mean when he said that Zhao Deyan and Daming Zunjiao would guide us?" Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders and said, "It doesn't mean anything. Zhao Deyan and Rong Fengxiang have a close relationship, and Rong Fengxiang is a member of Daming Zunjiao, and you are very tolerant of him. I just guessed it like this, it should be reasonable!" Wang Xuanying was at a loss for words, and his words were tit for tat, how could he be Kou Zhong's opponent. Wang Shichong said absent-mindedly: "Let's not argue over these trivial matters. What good suggestions does the young commander have?" Kou Zhong secretly heaved a sigh of relief, after spending so much time talking, it was Wang Shichong's words to fight for.Zhengrong said: "My proposal can be summed up in three sentences, that is, defense is the first, unite with Dou's army, and strengthen the tiger prison." Wang Shichong pondered: "I thought the young commander had some unexpected proposals. These... Hey! These are our strategies." Kou Zhong cursed inwardly, at least one of the alliances with the Dou army was not his established strategy, saying: "The first strategy is easy to say, but it is somewhat difficult to implement. The second item is the alliance with the Dou army, the Holy Majesty must suspend the name." God, things are negotiable." Wang Xuanying finally found a chance to fight back, and said displeasedly: "The name is not good, and the words are not good. Now that the old Sui emperor has officially abdicated his father, my Dazheng army is very excited. What's the matter with Dou Jiande? His joy can be changed by King Xia." Calling Emperor Xia is a matter of title, otherwise Emperor Father would be as short as Li Yuan." Wang Shichong was silent, seeming to agree, but also seemed to be thinking about proclaiming himself emperor. Whether Wang Shichong talks to Dou Jiande as King Zheng or Emperor Zheng, of course there is a big difference. If he chooses the latter, it will be difficult for the two sides to have a common basis for cooperation. Wang Xuanshu was speechless. Kou Zhong sighed: "This is a matter of Dazheng, it is up to you to decide. But any front can be lost, but the most important front in the east, Hulao Yanshi, is absolutely not lost. It is not only the way for Dou Jiande to come to help, but also My young marshal can send food, grass and equipment in a steady stream of life and death. I have a bold proposal, and I hope the Holy One will believe that I am a promise-keeping person and absolutely trust me." Wang Shichong was startled and said, "Does the young commander want to guard the tiger prison for me?" Kou Zhong said slowly word by word: "Of course this is the most ideal, but it is difficult for the strong sage. I only hope that Yang Gongqing, Zhang Zhenzhou, or Mr. Xuanshu can be the right one, and I will be an errand runner. Then I dare say that even if Li Shimin has three heads and six arms, he can't isolate Luoyang, and we can win a big battle with certainty." Wang Xuanying lost his voice and said: How can this be done? Wang Shichong reached out his hand to prevent Wang Xuanying from continuing, saying, "Let me think about this matter carefully." Ignoring Wang Xuanying's wink, he said to Wang Xuanshu: "Xuanshu will take care of the young commander's accommodation here. Tomorrow morning we have an important military meeting. Young commander, please attend on time."