Datai Township.

Between the mountains and forests, Wang Xiao was lying in the woods, Qin Xiaozhu on the left and Tang Qianqian on the right.

They came out to hunt wild boars today because the wild boar ran to the foot of the mountain to ruin the fields.

"Do you know? There are snakes on this mountain." Qin Xiaozhu lowered his voice and said, "I saw it on the roadside the first day I went up the mountain. It was as thick as your arms. I didn't even dare to tell Chunning and the others that if they knew about this, I wouldn't be scared."

Not to mention Chunning and the others, Wang Xiao felt that there was such a big snake and he was vaguely cunning, and replied: "There are still more things to drive away snakes and insects in other courtyards..."

Tang Qianqian said: "The new policy is about to be promulgated. How many days later does Xiaolang really plan to return to Beijing?"

"Well, I decided to wait..."

Qin Xiaozhu said: "Do you know? Huazhi said she wanted to catch a big snake and go back to the capital to make snake soup."

"Then let her eat by herself, don't make it in our kitchen, so as not to scare everyone." After Wang Xiao said that, he turned to Tang Qianqian and said, "We are not in a hurry to return to Beijing."

Before Tang Qianqian could speak, Qin Xiaozhu asked again: "We have been out for many days, is it really okay? Will it delay your business?"

Wang Xiao turned his head here again and replied, "It's okay."

"Why don't we go back? It seems you did it on purpose."

"The most common problem in reform is the most common problem. Let Fan Xueqi do it first, so I still have room for maneuver."

Wang Xiao said again: "Also, bystanders are clear. If I leave the capital, I can see the situation clearly. Since ancient times, there will be reformers and conservatives. I want to see how powerful the conservatives are."

"What do you think? You are not in the capital." Qin Xiaozhu threw a look at Tang Qianqian with some smugness.

——Look, he talked to me.

Tang Qianqian pursed her lips and smiled, with a hint of teasing.

Wang Xiao said, "Although I am not in the capital, there is a source of information. Every day, Xiao Chaihe will send someone to report the situation in the capital and then take my instructions back."

Qin Xiaozhu thought for a while and said, "If I were a conservative and wanted to stop the new policy, the first thing I did was to buy Xiao Chaihe."

"clever."

Qin Xiaozhu asked again: "Then you are not afraid that he will be bribed, what should I do?"

"If you buy it, you will buy it. If you return to Beijing, you will be the commander of the Jinyiwei. But that means that the conservatives are strong and the reforms will have to be discussed for a long time. I will stop and slow down."

Qin Xiaozhu glanced at him and saw that Tang Qianqian wanted to talk to Wang Xiao again. She quickly said, "If that were the case, would anyone else be able to rebel?"

"That's not enough. To make my rebellion, I have to buy Zhuang Xiaoyun and Gengdang at the same time to control the capital. I also have to win over at least two of the four people, Tang Jie, Liu Yigu, Qin Xuance, and Cai Wuzhen. Of course, the prerequisite for doing all this is to control the Jinyiwei first, which is the first necessary condition."

"What if someone bribed Xiao Chaihe and sent a killer to surround Datai Township?"

"Borrowing Xiao Chaihe does not mean controlling the Jinyiwei, because the entire Jinyiwei is my own. Moreover, he is not so easy to buy."

"But everyone said that the reward after this Northern Expedition was too thin."

"Perhaps some people think so, and they feel that there is an opportunity to take advantage of it, so they will know what a 'dimensionality reduction strike' is."

Qin Xiaozhu couldn't understand, so he showed a confused and cute expression.

Tang Qianqian pursed her lips and said, "This is what Xiaolang said, can class flow?"

Wang Xiao turned to her and said, "Yes, especially in such a chaotic world, the passage of class movement is wide open. Peasants can quickly become feudal bureaucratic landlords, and I can also turn some bureaucratic landlords into farmers or capital..."

He stopped halfway through his words.

I felt something slipping gently on my thigh...

snake?

Wang Xiao was startled, and a bump surged on his back. When he turned around, he found that it was Qin Xiaozhu who was touching him...

Relaxed.

He didn't show any expression and continued to chat with Tang Qianqian.

He knew that he and Tang Qianqian were secretly making small moves, which could be hidden from Chunning, Mingjing and others, but could not be hidden from Qin Xiaozhu.

This girl is unwilling to admit defeat. She must follow her example and play some tricks with herself.

——But the problem is that you have to choose the time and place. The deep mountains and forests are like snakes, so they are scared to death.

Looking at Qin Xiaozhu's face, he saw that the expression on his face was a little childish, naughty, simple and serious, and a little emotional. He even pretended that nothing had happened on the surface. A little hand had reached into Wang Xiao's clothes...

This girl's hands are still very slippery...

Just at this moment, a "huh huh huh" sound came from the forest.

"Shh, the boar is here..."

The three of them stopped talking and lowered their mouths, but Wang Xiao was still sticking his hips and felt a little embarrassed.

After a while, there were two "bang, bang" sounds in the forest, accompanied by a "whoosh", and Qin Xiaozhu cheered.

"That's great! I finally killed this beast. Will we eat barbecue at night? Will we eat barbecue?"

"Qin Xiaozhu, don't hold my hand."

"Hmph, Tang Qianqian, why are you proud? Do you think I want to pull you? A little bit..."

"Okay, okay, we only need half of it. Let the guards send the rest to the villagers at the foot of the mountain..."

"Well, Wang Xiao, it's really fun for us to come out..."

After a while, the guards walked behind with wild boars. Wang Xiao held Tang Qianqian with one hand and Qin Xiaozhu with the other, and walked on the way back to the other courtyard.

As I walked, I saw a group of people walking from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain from afar.

"Who are those?"

"Didn't Zuo Mingxin say that the couple wanted to build another villa on this mountain? I guess she sent someone to buy land."

"Did they sell their house in Jinan?"

"No, they can't bear to leave."

"Hmph, then where did they get so much money?"

"This year's dividend has been back, and there is still some money for Xuan Ce..."

~~

Capital City, Ma Mansion.

Yang Quanwang walked into the study and saw Ma Bohe sitting there, his whole face twisted, obviously thinking about something.

"Young Master, what's wrong?"

"I probably know how Chai Qinghe made money."

"Oh?" Yang Quanwang was very happy and asked, "Young Master found out so quickly?"

"It is not difficult to investigate. There have been rumors in the Ministry of Revenue these two days that Wang Kang had greedy for more than one million taels of silver in the "official foreign trade business". I asked, and just three days ago, Wang Kang did send a carriage to Chai Mansion."

Ma Bohe had a little anger in his eyes, and slapped the table, and said, "Do you know how much the annual tax is for the pseudo-gong Dynasty? Within 20 million taels, Wang Kang owed more than one million taels. Even my father would not dare to be so greedy."

"Wang Kang is greedy for ink?" Yang Quanwang felt incredible and said strangely: "Wang Xiao is half rich in the country. Does Wang Kang still want to be greedy for ink? Is there such a thing?"

Ma Bohe waved his hand and said, "You don't understand that this official business is not a member of the Wang family, but an industry of the pseudo-DPRK, like an official salt and a weaving bureau. The capital of this business is allocated by the pseudo-DPRK treasury. The trade is also made for the pseudo-DPRK navy and ships. After earning money, most of the money should be given to the pseudo-DPRK treasury."

Yang Quanwang said: "Even if this is the case, it is too... strange to say that Wang Kang is greedy for the Mo."

Ma Bohe said, "That's because you don't understand Wang Kang and Wang Xiao. Who is Wang Kang? The corrupt Bai Yizhang's in-laws. Before Wang Xiao became the son-in-law, the Wang family relied on Bai Yizhang; but who do you think Wang Xiao is? What kind of person do you think after becoming powerful?

Wang Xiao is very ambitious when he seeks fame. Haha, the father and son are also strange. One is a businessman full of money and greedy. How could he give birth to a son like Wang Xiao?”

"Young Master said that Wang Kang did it without Wang Xiao's hiding it?"

Ma Bohe said: "I don't know, I'm still thinking... There is another possibility that this money might be what Wang Xiao instructed Wang Kang to buy his confidant.

If this is the case, Chai Qinghe will be loyal to Wang Xiao and will sooner or later discover us. We must leave the capital immediately, immediately."

"Let's go now?"

Ma Bohe stood up and said, "Let's go! It's too dangerous."

He moved very quickly and walked to the entrance of the study in a few steps.

But the next moment, he stopped again and cursed in a low voice.

"Damn it!"

"Young Master? Go?"

"Wait...I'll think about it again."

Ma Bohe stood there and pondered, "No, it shouldn't be. If Wang Xiao wants to reward meritorious officials, he can directly reward land and titles. Why do you have to do this more than possible?"

"Young Master? Wouldn't you leave?"

"I can't figure it out." Ma Bohe murmured: "Let me say that, even if Wang Xiao admired Chai Qinghe's fertile fields for 5,000 hectares, and the fief of 10,000 households, all over the court would take it for granted..."

Yang Quanwang said, "I don't understand, what the young master is talking about?"

"If you are Wang Xiao, you have two choices to reward meritorious officials. One is to reward the court's land and titles, and be upright; the other is to buy the money you earn, and you will be said to be competing for profit with the people. What would you choose?"

"Of course I choose the first one."
To be continued...