Chapter 301: The Most Afraid of Psychosis
Compared with the various major events that have occurred in Hangzhou in recent times, the death of Qi Yuankang, the return of Li Tianrun, and the conflict on Pingchang Street, as a businessman, the Lou family should be considered Another system that is not involved in it.
Although it is already one of the largest merchant forces in the entire city, when it comes to real power, the Lou family is still in a corner and does not attract too many people's attention. But for the slightly middle-level forces in Hangzhou City, it is now another behemoth with tentacles involving all aspects. Of course, since it has only recently penetrated into the entire system, there is no need to give him too much power in all aspects of the struggle. Position, this seemingly huge force is actually still alien to everyone in Fang La's court.
This is not surprising. This has been the state of the merchant class throughout the ages. This was the case in the Wu Dynasty and the Yongle Dynasty. Compared with before, the Lou family is now at least one of the largest imperial merchants in the Yongle Dynasty. Of course, the current prospects of the Yongle Dynasty are really the most worrying issue. In the end, the Lou family will make money, lose money, or have to return. class on this issue.
As for the Lou family, more than half of the reason why they stayed in Hangzhou to join Fang La was because they had no choice. But there are also some reasons for rational considerations. At that time, the Lou family already had some rifts with Qian Xiwen and others. The merchant family was already sensitive. After leaving Hangzhou, Qian Xiwen and others had official connections. Whether they went to other places or returned to Hangzhou, they They can all make a comeback, but the Lou family's property is all in Hangzhou. If he leaves here, the foundation he has accumulated over the years will be gone.
In any case, Lou Jinlin was unwilling to accept this outcome, and the business he had been running for half a lifetime was ruined. What's more, the Lou family had also been targeted by Fang Qifu at that time, and it was no longer realistic to leave. After Hangzhou was occupied, Lou Jinlin was confused for a period of time, but soon he also showed his heroic nature that he had worked hard for all the way, trying to carve out a broader and safer path for the Lou family in the days to come. way to come.
It is not his character to simply sit back and wait for death. Letting the Lou family simply become the largest businessman in the Yongle Dynasty or waiting for the court to go south to break Hangzhou and be caught are not the future that Lou Jinlin wants to choose. . For this man in his fifties, he still has the shrewdness and ability to seize every opportunity and expand practical benefits. The flame of pioneering is still burning in his body.
It is not enough to simply be a businessman and rely on others. Even if the Yongle Dynasty can withstand the offensive of the court and develop a big situation, he is no longer satisfied with the goal of becoming the largest merchant. . At this time, the situation was turbulent and chaotic. The Lou family was rich. With the support of Fang Qifu, they also had the power not to be restricted by most forces. In Hangzhou City at this time, the most practical path was placed in front of them.
For more than a month, the Lou family began to try to recruit troops and expand their strength.
Fang La itself is in the nature of an uprising. Although Hangzhou City has been established as the capital, dragons and snakes are mixed, troops are gathering, and soldiers are fighting. They want to attract a group of people here to have their own power. The big principle is Say, everything is allowed. However, at this time, the various forces in the city have become saturated. There are people who really want to get a share of the various benefits and compete with others for food. After all, they can't compete with those who have been following Fang La from the beginning.
The Lou family does not belong to this case. He has money, food, and a lot of business to do. It is reasonable to hire a nurse at home and a thug for business. He can also support himself. But now, in terms of number of people, There are no limits anymore. If this war taught the Lou family anything, it might be that weapons must be in their own hands. Of course, even with such awareness and convenience, nothing can be overdone. If he reveals his ambition to take control of the military from the beginning, he will definitely be killed midway.
Lou Jinlin is a calm person and has difficulties along the way, but these difficulties are actually not big for him. Although they are not fools even though they are not fools, they can't compete with old foxes like him in various micro-operations. After he decided to do something, he purchased a large number of sophisticated weapons, a small number of military horses, recruited servants, hired guards, and at the same time recruited some martial arts people who had real skills but had been missed. For more than a month, he maintained the power of the city. The movement of various materials also extends the tentacles of its own power.
During this period, there will of course be some problems. For example, the Lou family can afford to support people, but it is ultimately impossible to raise an army. There are many disaster victims in Hangzhou right now. He can recruit 1,200 people who can't afford food, but without barracks or training grounds, what's the use? Under such circumstances, Lou Jinlin is more concerned about supporting some small street forces, such as small groups of ten or twenty people, small gangs of twenty or thirty people, and various gangsters who work on the streets near Lou's house. In more than a month, the Lou family has recruited nearly two hundred nursing staff, and the external control force is several times that number. If they really want to show off, this number is no less than that of some middle-level generals in Fang La's army. .
Of course, these people don't have much real fighting power. In the past, you could say that this was already a big gang, but it was still early to say that it was an army. But even so, now, some rebel leaders who did not take the Lou family seriously in the past no longer dare to provoke the Lou family easily.
In the past, as one of the businessmen designated by Fang Qifu, although he would not be too difficult in Hangzhou, there were still many people stinging the Lou family like leeches. eat. As long as there are hundreds of generals around, they dare to come to the Lou family to ask for food, drink, and collect protection money. Even after the Lou family took refuge in Bao Dao Yi, they did not restrain themselves, because everyone knew that Bao Dao Yi could not do it for them. This kind of thing is to stand up for the Lou family. We are all brothers. Your family has a big business, and others come to share some of it without destroying your family. What can I say? You are just a businessman.
In the past, the Lou family treated these people well and never disrespected them, and it is still the same now. But as time went by, although the Lou family had not done anything to establish their authority outside, the visits of such people became increasingly rare. For people in the upper class, such as Bao Daoyi, the Lou family has not changed at all, but has developed normally. However, for some leaders and generals in the middle and lower classes, they can still keenly feel the power of the Lou family's continuous expansion. and momentum.
"That Lou family is not easy to mess with now..."
After dinner, these generals who did not originally take the Lou family's identity as a merchant in mind would inevitably sigh like this. This also proves that the strength of the Lou family has quietly expanded to the point where it can be compared with these people.
However, the identity of a businessman will still make people participate in an underestimated consideration in such an evaluation. When others think that the power of the Lou family has entered the middle and lower classes, the Lou family has actually been quietly dividing and recruiting some leaders who have about a hundred or dozens of people under their command.
Not to mention anything else, the Lou family's material and financial capabilities are enough for him to control some less powerful forces after he has the power himself. Under Lou Jinlin's rotation, there are now two groups of such forces. After their leaders failed in the struggle for power with others, they were willing to seek shelter from the Lou family. For Lou Jinlin, this situation means that the early steps in the development of power have been firmly taken.
"It will take some time to be able to speak among these people. Next, let's explore Tang Bingzhang's style. He is working under Qi Yuankang. Although nothing happened this time, the impact must have been great... "
In the morning, in the study room of the main house of the Lou family, Lou Jinlin was talking to his eldest son, Lou Shuwang, about expansion. There is no need for the Lou Family's nursing home to recruit any more. He doesn't have many experienced veterans under his command. Winning over this type of force is the most economical option. With a few more groups of people defecting, the Lou family would really come to the fore and become one of the middle-level forces in Hangzhou. And because of Fang Qifu's protection at the beginning, Lou Jinlin was also sure that the Lou family's upper position would not be too excluded. At most, it would make people feel a little opportunistic and take advantage of the situation. However, once they have the strength, who can really Not happy with your own family?
"...Hangzhou is going to develop step by step for the time being. But for the back roads to the west and south, we need to prepare early. In a few months..." Turning the finger on his hand, the building is close When he said this, he fell silent again. The white hair on his head was uneven, but it was neatly combed, his eyes were sharp, his energy was still full, and he was still full of lion-like momentum. Although he felt anxious about what Hangzhou would look like in a few months, there was still a way out. Of course, another thing that came to his mind soon after made him feel a little depressed.
"By the way, how is your brother lately?"
Compared with his eldest son Lou Shuwang, Lou Jinlin actually loves his younger son Lou Shuheng more in his heart. When the city of Hangzhou fell earlier, Lou Shuheng felt depressed, but since Lou Jinlin had his eldest son as a helper, he could understand the impact on his younger son, so he let him rest for the time being. However, if you continue to be careless to this extent, it is really a bit too much. Lou Jinlin hopes that his youngest son will know more about the affairs of the family, especially when the Lou family is going through such changes, so that he can give full play to his talents, so that in the future, part of the family business can be handed over to him with greater peace of mind. inside.
He didn't have the biased idea of handing over all the family property to Lou Shuheng. The two sons actually had a good relationship, but the eldest son was very talented. In the future, each of them would share half of the family property. The eldest son's share would become bigger and bigger. It was inevitable that there would be discord in the second son's family. This is naturally the feeling of hating iron for not becoming steel. Lou Shu looked at it and bowed his hands.
“My younger brother has been very diligent in visiting recently, but he has found some wrong people, and has not been able to find out the situation he wanted to find out clearly. However, he has met more and more people, I believe he will soon You can finish what you want to do soon and calm down."
Lou Jinlin sighed: "He. You know those things well, right?"
"Haier knows that he is obsessed with Miss Su, but what he cares about most is probably Ning Yi's humiliation to him. The child now also knows that as he told his father before, the child did not take the initiative to help his younger brother this time, hoping that he would take the initiative. Accomplishing this matter also has special meaning for him."
Lou Jinlin waved his hand disapprovingly, frowned and was silent for a moment, and finally said: "It's okay for a man to take revenge, but his vision must be broad. , then Ning Yi remembers it as a father, but in this situation, what is there to remember? My Lou family is now in a state of affairs! In the face of such changes, once it passes, the entire Hangzhou... Yongle Dynasty and Wu Dynasty's struggle will all have the participation of my Lou family. The little things that happened at the beginning were crushed like bugs... Oh, that's all, at this time. Just watch. After that's done, let Shu Heng get back to work. How about Shu Wan?"
When his father asked about his sister, Lou Shuwang's expression was a little complicated: "Actually... my younger sister has some relationship with Ning Yi..."
"Huh?"
Lou Jinlin frowned. With his brows raised, Lou Shuwang told the story that the young girl probably had a crush on Ning Yi: "In my opinion, Ning Yi has some abilities, too. A person who knows how to take advantage of others. When he was a son-in-law, he was very low-key and polite when interacting with scholars. When he was in Naha Daoying, he pretended to be heroic and generous. With my current status in the Lou family, he is here. There are benefits to Bian deliberately approaching the little sister, but the little sister actually can’t control him..."
He finished his opinion. In fact, Lou Shuwang has been very busy recently. Although he is a little interested in Ning Yi, he still has a overlooking mood. A person is trapped in a bandit camp like this, and even Li Tianyou is hostile to him. He uses all means Struggling to survive, no matter how well you do it, in Lou Shuwang's eyes, it's just a better performance.
Lou Shuwang doesn't care about Ning Yi. His younger brother and sister are involved with him. After all, he only cares about his younger brother and sister. For such an outsider, he doesn't care whether he lives or dies or is worse than dead. In a sense, if the little sister can really live a good life with him or just be as happy as before and finally get rid of him, he can also persuade the little brother to show his kindness and enlighten him, but the little sister is the master after all. If I can't live with such a person and want to vent my heart, then he will have no choice but to die.
Lou Jinlin naturally understood what he meant. After thinking for a moment, he said to him, "You have to take this matter seriously." Lou Shuwang nodded, indicating that he understood.
After talking to my father, I went to Sijizhai to have dinner with Bao Daoyi and others at noon. He was just a foil, and he didn't actually have much to say. In recent days, he had also heard that Bao Daoyi and Ba Daoying had conflicts over women, and there had been friction in the following days. He didn't care about this matter. The Lou family took care of Dao Yi, but the foundation was Fang Qifu. Various materials in the city still needed the Lou family to turn around. Others couldn't attack the Lou family, but the Lou family could just watch quietly. It turns out that after some time, they will also be able to reap their own benefits in such a political struggle.
Inadvertently, I saw Ning Yi and maid Xiaochan sitting downstairs eating.
While everyone was eating, there were naturally only a few serious topics, and then there were jokes. Lou Shuwang knew that Bao Daoyi liked all kinds of women, so he brought up the topic. Bao Daoyi also smiled and talked about the advantages of all kinds of women. When the guests and hosts were enjoying themselves, Lou Shuwang pointed to the building. Xiaochan asked Bao Dao From B's point of view, Bao Dao Y is really capable. He twirled his beard and took a look, then smiled and said that she was a well-trained maid from a wealthy family. She was recently taken over by the man next to her. She was the most charming one. when.
With such a question, Lou Shuwang's purpose was achieved. He knew Bao Daoyi's hobbies, and a woman like Xiaochan would suit him. Now that he asked such a question, maybe Someone will kidnap Xiaochan soon. This is also a problem that was thrown to Ning Yi casually.
On the contrary, Bao Daoyi has been busy fighting recently, and there are many girls at home having fun. After the confrontation with Ba Daoying a few days ago, he has finally restrained himself a bit from grabbing girls randomly on the street. This time, he finally did not attack Xiaochan.
This matter was done casually in Lou Shuwang without paying much attention to it. Later, it didn’t matter whether Bao Dao B caught him or not. If something happens, he can see how his younger brother will respond before he attacks Ning Yi. Even if he doesn't see it, Ning Yi's life is still in danger. There are many things he has to do next, such as The small problem is that it doesn't take up much of his time.
Next, after two days like this, he heard from his servants that Lou Shuheng had recently met a woman at a poetry meeting and was fascinated by her poetry and style. Lou Shuheng looked at her heart. I thought that since I had new sustenance, I should let him know about Ning Yi earlier, so I gave up. However, when he found his younger brother at noon that day, he was shocked by Lou Shuheng's progress.
It was at a small restaurant near Pingchang Street. Lou Shuheng and several servants were sitting there. He had been looking for traces of Ning Yi everywhere in the city these days, but he found the wrong relationship. I haven't gotten much information about Ning Yi. At this time, the beard on his face has grown out, and he looks unkempt. But when my brother came up, he was shaking his two fingers, very excited.
“Do you know who I found? Brother, do you know who I found?”
"Who?"
"You can't guess... Hehe, you can't guess..."
"..."
Lou Shuwang looked at it in confusion Looking at the scene downstairs, I don't know why. Lou Shuheng laughed for a long time, stood up and walked around, rubbing his hands together excitedly, lowering his voice nervously: "It's Su Tan'er... It's Su Tan'er... I found Ning Yi the day before yesterday, and then... Then I asked someone to find a way to monitor him. Yesterday, I found that he came here. You know what I saw... Haha, it's Su Tan'er. She is so powerful. Ning Yi was trapped here, and she actually brought a group of people with her. The fabric sneaked back quietly Hangzhou. Isn’t it? It’s amazing, haha... She’s back, she actually came back for that Ning Yi, it’s amazing... This woman..."
Lou Shuheng almost cried with laughter When he came, Lou Shuwang frowned and looked at his overly excited brother. For a moment, Lou Shuheng stopped dancing in his brother's eyes, took a breath, and his expression was as calm as a student being stared at by a teacher. stand up.
"I want to keep her." He raised his right index finger and emphasized. After a while, he shook his finger vigorously and showed a smile, "She is leaving tonight, but... I want to keep her... ...Haha...Ha——"
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When Juaner arrived at Ba Dao Camp, it was probably Shen Shi Around two quarters, it was past four o'clock in the afternoon. It gets dark early in autumn, and it was already close to evening. All the elites from the Batao camp came out and quietly went from different directions to the previously scheduled strongholds of Bao Dao B distributed in the city. As one of the leaders of the matter, Ning Yi, Liu Xigua, Liu Tiannan and others had just left. Xiliu Street. The person who picked up Juan'er was Xiaochan, who had just learned that she was going to be sent away. Her eyes were still red, and she was hiding alone in the kitchen crying. When she heard the news, she quickly grabbed Juan'er and chased her out... ( End of chapter)