,,,,,,,,,,,,

The news that Jingzhou Prefecture was about to move back to Xiangyang spread like wildfire, and the rumor spread in Wuchang City was the most obvious sign of the changes in Wuchang land prices.

As many dignitaries began to sell their houses, the land price in Wuchang City, which was originally unavailable even if they had money, dropped by half in just two days. It was originally necessary to buy a two-acre house with two acres. Now the location is a little worse, and you can buy ten taels of gold.

More importantly, there is no market for prices. There are only a few people who want to buy a house, but there are thousands of families who want to sell a house. How can they be sold? As housing prices plummet, the entire Wuchang city was in panic and panic.

However, the market did not immediately decline, a large number of shops were in decline, and the situation of unemployment of the work did not appear. Although the merchants who moved from Fancheng returned to Fancheng one after another, many merchants were still waiting and watching whether to give up Wuchang City. The key to this is the Tao family's attitude.

In recent years, under the encouragement and guidance of the government, Jiangxia's business has developed greatly. Compared with five years ago, both scale, quantity and capital have increased several times.

Although the business companies composed of large capital have grown from two to more than a dozen, no one can stand out in the capital and scale of the Tao family, especially the special relationship between the Tao family and the provincial governor Liu Jing, has made the Tao family a weather vane for the entire Jingzhou business community.

It can be said that as long as the Tao family starts selling the shops in Wuchang, Wuchang's business will face a catastrophe, which will cause a business collapse and lead to a complete depression. Wuchang is the heart of Jiangxia, and the depression in Wuchang will cause the entire Jiangxia to fall.

This is the situation that affects the whole body.

At noon, the Xingchun Tavern in Dongcheng City in Wuchang was bustling and noisy, and the business was still as popular as usual. The tavern is located in the most concentrated area of ​​shops. It is one of the best in Wuchang City in terms of scale. It is the Su family's industry and the news center of Dongcheng City.

These days, the tavern is crowded with merchants coming to drink and eat every day, and they are more here to inquire about the news.

In the upper and lower floors of the wine hall, there were upper tables, each table was crowded with drinkers, and the number of people doubled compared to before. Dozens of bartenders served wine and food, so busy that they were not touching the ground.

The busiest one was the shopkeeper. He walked from the first floor to the building, and almost every guest at the table had to hold him up and ask a few questions. Inquiring about the news, his cheeks hurt so much that his cheeks hurt.

At this time, a middle-aged man took several entourages to the second floor. The middle-aged man's face turned slightly yellow, and his beard was a foot long under his jaw. He was calm and elegant in temperament, which made him look outstanding. This man was Lu Su, the envoy of Jiangdong who had just arrived in Wuchang.

Lu Su did not alarm the Jiangxia government. He wanted to find a secret spy installed in Wuchang first, so he first found the secret spy placed in Jiangdong in Wuchang and learned some of the situation.

Liu Jing went to Xiangyang and had not come back yet. He also heard that Liu Jing and Cao Cao had reached a settlement agreement and were preparing to move the prefecture to return to Xiangyang.

This news made Lu Su both worried and happy. It was a matter of Cao Cao reconciliation with Jingzhou, but he did not negotiate with Jiangdong. Will the troops be concentrated next year and next year to attack Jiangdong?

Even more terrible is that after reaching a reconciliation, Liu Jing no longer went north to Nanyang, Cao Cao had no worries, and the threat to Jiangdong was even greater. This made Lu Su worried. Will Jiangxia army still help Jiangdong at a critical moment?

But on the other hand, the westward migration of Jingzhou Prefecture means that Jingzhou's strategy will turn west and no longer threaten Jiangdong, which greatly relieves Lu Su's concerns.

At this time, a bartender stepped forward and greeted, "This distinguished guest came so coincidentally that a table was free. Please follow me."

Lu Su nodded and followed him to an empty table. He asked all his followers to sit down and ordered more than a dozen dishes and a pot of wine. The bartender hurried back to prepare wine and dishes for him.

While drinking tea, Lu Su was thinking about his thoughts. How should he negotiate this time? Will Liu Jing still stick to his original tough stance?

Thinking of Jiang Xia's four harsh conditions last time, Lu Su couldn't help but sigh. A decision-making mistake led to such serious consequences, Wu Hou was unexpected.

At this time, several bartenders served them with wine and food. Everyone started to move their chopsticks. Lu Su drank a few glasses of wine and moved his mind away from the negotiations. He looked at the tavern again and found that many of these drinkers had finished their meal but refused to leave, which made Lu Su a little puzzled. Why is this?

At this moment, the sound of stairs sounded, and the fat shopkeeper of the tavern quickly walked up to the second floor, followed by a large group of drinkers. The drinkers also ran down one after another, and there was a burst of applause in the lobby on the second floor.

Only then did Lu Su realize that everyone was waiting for the shopkeeper, and there was probably some important news. Even Lu Su pricked up his ears curiously.

Today, the fat shopkeeper was very confident. He had important news to announce. The fat shopkeeper clapped his palm and smiled at everyone, "Everyone is quiet, listen to me."

Everyone gradually became quiet, and a few people were whispering. The fat shopkeeper said again: "It's the news that everyone cares about, I won't say it again."

The lobby suddenly became silent, and the drinkers running upstairs and downstairs were already blocked by the stairs. Someone shouted: "Shopkeeper, the sound is louder, we can't hear it."

The fat shopkeeper raised his voice and smiled: "Yesterday I went to the Su Mansion to report the accounts, and met the master, and he told some news."

The master mentioned by the fat shopkeeper is Su Fei, who is about to serve as the Jiangxia guard. Everyone knows that when he stares at the shopkeeper for several pairs of eyes, many people dare not take a breath, for fear that they will miss important news.

The fat shopkeeper continued with a smile: "The master told me that Jingzhou will reach an agreement with Jiangdong soon. Jiangdong will relax all trade, including the abolition of the Hanoi ban and the sea ban. You can go to Wujun and Kuaiji County to do business, and even take a sea boat to the north. In this way, our Wuchang County is still the largest city in trade with Jiangdong."

The tavern suddenly exploded. For more than ten years, the trade between Jingzhou and Jiangdong could only be along the Yangtze River. Even if the Tao family had a house in Dongwu, the warehouse had to be built along the Yangtze River.

Jiangdong never allowed ships in Jingzhou to enter the inland river, and at the same time, ships were not allowed to go out to sea from Jiangdong. This is called the inland river ban and the sea ban.

Every businessman knows what this news means, which means that they no longer have to be exploited by Jiangdong merchants again, and can go directly to Jiangdong counties to buy and sell goods and make greater profits. The merchants in the lobby are extremely excited and quarreled.

Lu Su frowned, and he was very shocked. He didn't expect to hear this news in the tavern. Releasing trade was originally one of Liu Jing's four conditions, but he did not mention the details at that time. Now he knew the details, and actually asked Jiangdong to relax the inland rivers and sea bans.

What does this mean? This shows that Jiangxia is already preparing to negotiate with Jiangdong. This is good news, but the conditions for lifting the inland river ban are harsh. Jiangxia's money is very popular. If the inland river ban is relaxed, wouldn't it completely squeeze out the Jiangdong economy?

Is this news really a little unsatisfied? He must find out clearly. Lu Su immediately said a few words to a subordinate, asking the shopkeeper to see him. The subordinate nodded and left the table.

At this time, the fat shopkeeper said again: "There is also news about the Tao family."

The lobby suddenly became quiet again. The Tao family was the weather vane of the Jingzhou business community. Its every move cared about the hearts of thousands of businessmen. At this sensitive moment, the Tao family's attitude directly determined whether Wuchang would continue to flourish.

"Shopkeeper, please tell me, don't swear." Someone shouted impatiently.

The fat shopkeeper then said proudly: "The latest news is that the Tao family bought all the vacant land at the mouth of Caohekou yesterday. I heard that it was going to build a warehouse to rent it. This news is absolutely true, guaranteed by my 20-year reputation."

This news made the pub jubilant, and cheers rang out throughout the pub. Not only did the Tao family not leave, they also wanted to continue buying land. Everyone believed that the shopkeeper's words should be true.

Many smart businessmen immediately rushed downstairs, and they were about to buy some land for sale at low prices before the news broke.

The merchants left one after another, and everyone felt that they should do something and could not stay here. At this time, Lu Su's subordinates invited the shopkeeper over, "My master has something to ask the shopkeeper."

The shopkeeper's eyes were very poisonous, and he also saw that Lu Su was not an ordinary person, but should be a status official. He quickly saluted and said, "If you have any questions, just ask the distinguished guest, and the villain knows everything."

Lu Su nodded and asked, "I want to ask first, who is your master?"

"It is Su Jun of Anlu County, and he is about to serve as the Jung of Jiangxia."

Lu Su then realized that it was Su Fei, and he knew each other very early. Lu Su asked again with a smile: "There is also the matter of Jiangdong lifting the inland river ban. As far as I know, the negotiations between Jiangdong and Jiangxia have not yet begun. I would assert that Jiangdong would agree to lift the inland river ban."

The shopkeeper smiled bitterly and said, "I don't understand the specifics, but I did listen to my master. He said this is one of our Jiangxia conditions, and Jiangdong has to agree if he doesn't agree."

Lu Su's heart moved and asked quickly: "Which condition?"

The shopkeeper shook his head in a hurry, "The villain doesn't know."

Lu Su pondered for a moment. With Su Fei's status, he must be an insider. Liu Jing proposed four conditions at the beginning, but now it has become one. One of them must be cancelled. If it is not considered trade, it is one of the items of food compensation, hostages, and restricted warships. Which item is it? It is estimated that the possibility of hostages is relatively high.

At this moment, someone shouted: "The Palace Master is back."

Everyone stood up and surrounded the window. Lu Su also looked out and saw that the tavern was close to Caohe. He saw a fleet of more than ten ships slowly coming from the water gate in front.

The boat was full of soldiers, and in the middle was a five-stone passenger ship. A military flag with a gold edge was inserted on the front of the boat, and a big character named Chu was written on it. Liu Jing was named Chu Hou, which was his logo.

The banks of Caohe River were filled with merchants and ordinary residents. After several miles, they saw the provincial governor coming by boat and cheered together. One person walked out of the ship's warehouse. It was Liu Jing, the governor of Jingzhou.

He clasped his fists and laughed loudly at the merchants: "Please rest assured that you can operate in Wuchang. Wuchang will still be a major commercial and trade location in Jingzhou in the future. Wuchang is against Jiangdong, Fancheng is against Zhongyuan, Jiangling is against Bashu. I wish you all more wealth and pay more taxes."

The news of the provincial governor's promise in person spread quickly, and thousands of merchants on both sides of the Caohe River immediately cheered, and Liu Jing couldn't help but laugh.

He heard Tao Sheng say that the people of Wuchang were unstable, especially the merchants, who were panicked, so he specially entered the city from Caohe to appease the merchants. As long as Wuchang's business is still prosperous, Jiangxia would not decline.
Chapter completed!