On this day, Wang Fu and Xiao Xian were suddenly awakened by the court meeting. The emperor's idea from seventeen years ago was still not given up.

The previous decision to ask Liu Jingchuan to go to Liangzhou to cut off the land and refuse the Caohe River operation inspection was just a cover-up.

But this time, everyone in the court could only raise objections based on the selection. After all, inspecting the operation of the Cao River has been the "consensus" of the ministers.

The Xiao family occupies more than half of the property in the capital, and the Wang family accounts for 10%. The rest is shared by other families. However, the grain and rice industry is equally divided between the Xiao family and the Wang family. The Xiao family has a large industry and the Wang family has elite soldiers.

, once the two companies cooperated, they monopolized the grain and rice industry.

There were also other people who tried to get involved in the grain and rice business, but they were either robbed by bandits, or the cargo ships caught fire or sank. Even the grain shipped by the imperial court would be inexplicably sunk and robbed during good years.

In addition to killing more than a dozen officials, the emperor also sent troops to suppress the bandits along the road. However, the bandits were often nowhere to be found. Those who came back either killed good people and took credit for their merits, and went to catch a few locals with some conscience.

The thief is worth the number.

Other families have long been dissatisfied with the Xiao family and Wang family's monopoly on the grain and rice industry. If they can't do the grain and rice business, they can still do it in the court.

However, Xiao Xian and Wang Fu felt that even if they sent out troops to investigate and suppress the situation every year, nothing would happen, so they never interfered and even supported everyone's proposal to inspect the Caohe River transshipment.

But this time, the situation was very different. King Jin was sent there, and he also brought Zuo Sanxiang and Liu Jingchuan with him.

Prince Jin is the emperor's own son, so he must not let anything happen, otherwise the emperor will forcefully turn over the table. However, Prince Jin is young and can fool him.

But who is Zuo Sanxiang? Even the second-rank officials of the imperial court have been chopped into pieces without permission. Hundreds of thousands of wet poisonous people have not been able to beat him. If such a ruthless person goes to investigate the bad debts of Caohe Transshipment, I am afraid he will be opened up.

Killing.

And Liu Jingchuan was so proficient in the transshipment of grain and grass that he probably already knew what was tricky about it.

Of these three people, one is an amulet, one is a killing knife, and the other is a demon mirror. It seems that the bad things in Caohe Transfer cannot be hidden.

"Abandon the soldiers and save the chariot! Get out! Don't act rashly!" Xiao Xian's aide Xi Donglou was having a written conversation with Wang Fu's aide Qian Jingzhi in a restaurant.

"That's not right! Boil a frog in warm water! Sooner or later it will be our turn! Should we sit back and wait for death?"

"Whenever there is calm in a major event, the emperor will first strike with a stick to scare the enemy away, hoping that we will get into trouble! So even if we suffer losses, we cannot act rashly!"

"Once the knife is out of the sheath, it will be difficult to put it back! What's more, this big knife can't just kill a few small shrimps!"

"Now that the heat is low, other families want to add insult to injury! Counterattack at this time is extremely disadvantageous!"

"When the Caohe transshipment is over, I'm afraid there will be no chance again!"

"The Emperor is not a reckless man. He is measured and will stop it in moderation, just like he did back then!"

Seeing Xi Donglou's confidence, Qian Jingzhi shook his head, took a sip of tea, stood up and left.

Liu Jingchuan, who was originally preparing to go to Liangzhou to take office, took a deep breath after receiving the order to inspect the Caohe transshipment.

Zhao Qian, who was delivering the order, whispered in Liu Jingchuan's ear, "The King of Jin and Lord Zuo are also the imperial envoys for this inspection! Sir Liu, please don't worry!"

"It's not that I'm worried, it's just that it happened so fast. I didn't expect that I could really show off my skills this time, and I'm a little excited."

"Master Liu, you'd better be careful in everything, I'll go back and resume my life!"

That night, the lights in Prince Jin's Mansion were so bright that some officials living around thought something had happened to Prince Jin's family.

In the Prince Jin's Mansion, which has always been frugal and simple, the lights are turned off at the beginning of every day. At most, there is only one light in the study.

Pei Yun led some officials to the Jin Palace in the afternoon. Zuo Sanxiang and Liu Jingchuan were late, but Xiao Hui and Dong Xing were also late.

Xiao Hui is the eldest son of Xiao Xian. This time he came to express an attitude. The Xiao family also supports the inspection of Caohe transshipment.

Dong Xing came on behalf of Wang Fu, and Wang Fu was not at ease with Xiao Xian. After all, the Xiao family would no longer be engaged in the grain and rice business in the capital, and there was still business in porcelain, silk, and tea.

But the Wang family can't do it. The Wang family is taking care of the escort business from Jiangnan to the capital. If the inspection of Caohe transshipment is thoroughly investigated, there will be no need for any escort business on this road.

However, the king of Jin entertained all the ministers in the same manner as before, including vegetable and tofu soup, barbecued meat rolled in sesame cakes, cabbage stewed meat soup, green sunflower and chicken soup, and corn rice.

The wine was cloudy farmhouse wine bought from the cheapest winery in Luoyang city.

Many people took only a small piece of meat with chopsticks and put it in their bowls. Only a few people, including the third minister from the left, Liu Jingchuan and Pei Yun, ate.

The person who didn’t eat naturally raised his glass and said, "I respectfully wish His Highness the King of Jin to take on the great responsibility of cleaning up the water transportation for our great beams, which will benefit the country and the people! Everyone, let’s toast to His Highness the King of Jin!"

King Jin made a pushing gesture with his hands outward, "Everyone is so complimentary, I, the King."

But we are doing what we should do, and the Emperor is wise and has sent Lord Zuo and Master Liu to assist. This Caohe transshipment matter will definitely give a satisfactory explanation to both the government and the public!"

"Yes, if we don't thoroughly investigate the problems in Caohe Transshipment, we won't be able to give an explanation to the people of the world! If we don't find out the culprit behind it, it won't be enough for the people to be angry!"

"This time the King of Jin takes action, he will definitely be able to clear the sea and clear the rivers, and eliminate harm for the country!"

"That's right, that's right, if we don't fix the Caohe River transshipment issue, we won't even be able to eat this corn!"

The words were all beautiful, but few people used their chopsticks to eat the rice in front of them.

The King of Jin drank a full cup, and then made a stop gesture: "Everyone, a porridge and a meal are hard-earned. They are the people's fat and the people's treasure. It is extremely difficult to transport them from Huainan. Everyone has to finish the wine today, and the food on the table will also be eaten."

You have to finish eating, otherwise you will look down on me!"

After saying that, King Jin did not look at the crowd, but picked up the corn and started eating it himself.

Many people were stunned, but Dong Xing reacted quickly. He also picked up the rice and ate it, not forgetting to tease everyone.

"My lords, if you eat too much refined grain rice on weekdays, your health will be bad. Eat some coarse grains from time to time to keep your appetite and body healthy! This is the kindness of King Jin. Don't let him down!"

Zuo Sanxiang had already seen Dong Xing coming. Dong Xing was a famous doctor in Daliang, a swordsman with first-class swordsmanship, and Wang Fu's best friend. So he quietly changed places with the officials next to Dong Xing.

"Dr. Dong, Mr. Zuo came to you today to learn this health-preserving method. Haha, you must not hesitate to teach me!"

Dong Xing also calmly put down his bowls and chopsticks, "The Marquis Zuo sits next to me, a person with no fame. This really flatters me! Disrespectful! I was thinking, both the Prince of Jin and the Marquis can eat it."

Corn rice, why are the adults here holding their bowls afraid to eat it?"

When Dong Xing said this, some officials began to chew corn rice with their eyes closed, as if they were eating coptis, with wrinkles on their brows and stretched cheeks.

Others immersed themselves in the show and took a few mouthfuls before saying to Dong Xing, "The King of Jin and the Marquis eat corn rice because they care about the people and experience the life of a farmer. As a commoner, you are a corn rice eater."

How dare you tease the court ministers here, it’s too presumptuous!”

"Yes, what is your identity and why you come to Prince Jin's Mansion to run wild?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, King Jin immediately waved to everyone, "All the guests today are invited by me. Everyone who comes is a guest, and guests have their own rules! Please respect yourselves!"

Dong Xing did not fight back, but laughed playfully at Zuo Sanxiang. Zuo Sanxiang suddenly understood.

Dong Xing came here to do sabotage, but he used his methods extremely well, and most people wouldn't be able to react when he was tricked.

"Sir, Divine Doctor Dong, has a lot of them. Don't let us know each other anymore. By the way, the Hu Pancake Roll Barbecue in Jin Palace is very delicious. Divine Doctor Dong might as well give it a try!"

Dong Xing nodded and raised the pancake in front of him, "I would like to ask Mr. Zuo to give a demonstration. I have never seen this way of eating among the rough people in the countryside!"

Zuo Sanxiang spread out the Hu Pancake in front of him, tore off the roasted meat and put it on top of the Hu Pancake. Then he added some onions and garlic, rolled the Hu Pancake into a long strip and handed it to Dong Xing.

"Dong thanked Mr. Hou, I learned something new today!"

Dong Xing's appetite was very good, and he put all the five things in front of him into his stomach in a short time, and then took a bowl of manjing stew directly from the plate in front of Zuo Sanxiang.

Many ministers pointed at him. King Jin was about to reprimand everyone again, but the Third Prime Minister Zuo waved his hand.

Pei Yun also understood at this time that the reason why Dong Xing acted like this was just to create discord between the King of Jin and the ministers. The dinner party was already shabby enough, but Dong Xing ridiculed everyone here, and the King of Jin also reprimanded everyone.

, it is inevitable that someone will leave the table.

"My lords, it is rare for the King of Jin to have a banquet with you, but the King of Jin has always been frugal, so please don't take this offence! Today's banquet was ordered by the emperor, and there is no such thing as a prince's personal relationship with a minister violating the rules.

It’s just to work together with you to rectify the Caohe River transshipment! Pei is not talented, his official position is not high, and he is not as noble as you. Pei would like to toast you all, and please show your respect!"

The third prime minister, Zuo, was the first to respond, "Zuo thanked General Chariot and Cavalry for his kindness. He must fulfill his duties and handle this errand for the emperor and the court, so as to repay the kindness of King Jin for taking him in!"

Some ministers who were good friends with Pei Yun also woke up. They came to the banquet today to express their attitude to King Jin, but they were almost interfered with by Dong Xing.

"I am ashamed that King Jin has treated me so courteously today. I should work together to complete the errand with King Jin!"

"I have lost my composure for a moment, so please don't take offense to the King of Jin and the cavalry general! We will never change our determination to clean up Caohe Transshipment!"

The rest of the people expressed their respective opinions and expressed their full support for King Jin. In fact, they wanted to treat the Xiao family and the Wang family

Adding insult to injury.

Originally, everyone made money and did business together. These two families had to have a monopoly. Usually other families dared to be angry and dare not speak out, but this time they had the support of the emperor and sent the King of Jin as the imperial envoy. Even if they could not overthrow the Xiao family and

The Wang family can also make their grain and rice business plummet.

Rice in the capital was expensive, and the labor employed by each family was also expensive. The Wang family had the largest number of domestic slave tenants, and anyone else who hired people for business would be exploited by the Wang family.

Other families wanted to bring their slave tenants from their hometowns to the capital, but they couldn't pass the Prime Minister's Mansion. Jing Zhaoyin was recommended by the Xiao family, and even the slaves smuggled to the capital by the Pei family

They were sent back on the grounds that they were not allowed to accept people without registered households.

Xiao Hui was the only one who neither ate anything on the table nor spoke. Instead, he quietly listened to what everyone was saying.

This Xiao Hui was the son of Xiao Xian and a peasant girl who took him in when he was not yet prosperous. Later, after Xiao Xian defected to the emperor, he rose through the ranks by relying on his status as Empress Xiao's nephew and abandoned his first wife.

Xiao Hui rarely spoke since her mother was sent back to her hometown. She remained unknown in the Xiao family. She neither practiced martial arts nor became an official. She just stayed at home and took care of housework with the housekeeper all day long.

Xiao Xian felt somewhat guilty for Xiao Hui, so from time to time he would call Xiao Hui to the study alone to give advice and ask Xiao Hui to do things for him that were inconvenient for him to do.

Even King Jin didn't notice the silent concubine of Xiao Mansion. Princess Du Ruohong, who came to give King Jin a handkerchief, caught a glimpse of the expressionless man and pulled King Jin's clothes behind him.

Xiao Hui pointed.

"Mr. Xiao Hui, please forgive me if I did not treat you well. It is my negligence that I neglected you today. Please come forward and sit down to talk."
To be continued...