I Xiaoxiong

Chapter 305
There are several Fu brothers sitting in the back hall of Shuai's mansion.But it was a family banquet.

On the table of the Eight Immortals, there are all kinds of Sichuan flavors and food. The wine is a private brew sent by the Prince of Shu, which is very famous in Chengdu.

"Shiro, tomorrow you call up [-] Yabing soldiers and follow me to Puzhou."

"Is the third brother only bringing tooth soldiers this time? The Red Lotus Army is said to have 10,000+ people, and Fubo is barely supporting them. Don't you need to send reinforcements?"

Shiro asked curiously.

After Fu Jinchuan returned to Chengdu, he thought that the army would make some adjustments and set off immediately to destroy the Red Lotus Army in Zizhou, Puzhou, Lingzhou and other places.

Today is just the third day after returning to Chengdu.I thought it was to invite the brothers to have a small gathering.But I never thought there was a military order.

"Fu Bai has [-] soldiers and horses, and the two armies of Guanzhong and the Imperial Guard have one guard, which is enough for the [-] to [-] Red Lotus Army. There are bandits in Zizhou, so there is nothing to worry about."

Although the enemy is expected to be lenient, Fu Jinchuan's words are still full of contempt for the Red Lotus Army.

Even though the Red Lotus Army has absorbed Wu Wang's rebel generals and the rest of the troops, it has already established some initial structures, and has improved a lot in several sieges and field battles.

But in Fu Jinchuan's eyes, these people are nothing but losers.

He had defeated rebel leaders such as Xue Julin and Fang Jiao successively when he was the governor of Yangzhou, and he knew these people well.

Can a group of defeated generals get together and get things done?It's just a bandit, but it's also worthy of being called an army?
Naturally, Shiro, Goro, and Liulang have no objection to this. Their third brother is his uncle and eldest brother Fu Huaichuan at home, and they are even more powerful in the army.

"Goro will stay in Chengdu this time, and ask Mr. Liu more."

"Understood third brother, by the way, there is something wrong with me"

Fu Jinchuan frowned seeing his brother's stammering expression, "Speak up if you have anything to say, everyone sitting here is my own brother. Don't hold back."

"This is the third brother. I met the prince of Shu a few days ago. He said that he has a friend who is from a wealthy family in central Shu. He especially respects the heroism of the third brother. He wants to see the third brother..."

Fu Jinchuan frowned after hearing the fifth younger brother's words, "The prince of Shu?"

"Yes, it is the prince of Shu. The friend he mentioned seems to belong to Mrs. Du."

"After I came to Chengdu, even though I took the position of the king of Shu, the prince was very friendly, he was a sensible person, and the handover went smoothly. The son of the king of Shu didn't know what kind of character he was, but it was because of the king of Shu. In terms of face, this bit of face is also to be given, so you can meet the prince of Shu some other day and tell him that you will give him this chance when I come back in the next year."

In fact, Fu Jinchuan already had some guesses in his mind about the origin of this Du.

Du, Yan, Li, and Yang are the four prominent families in Central Shu. These four families have tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, countless properties, and numerous servants.

And it is inextricably linked with Jiannan Road and many officials in the court.

How to deal with the relationship with these big families in central Shu is something that he, the Jiannan Jiedushi, must consider.It is now in wartime, so it can be put on hold for now.

But there are some issues that he has to deal with sooner or later.

For example, these big families have a lot of land under their names, have they hidden the land, and have they paid the annual land tax according to the amount?

Is there anything tricky about the mines, salt wells, and Shu brocade weaving under his name?
When he was in Yangzhou, he was only the governor of Yangzhou, and he only needed to supervise the military affairs of the seven states under his jurisdiction.However, the Jiannan Jiedu envoy has several duties, and the military and political power in central Shu is in his hands.

The land of abundance in central Shu is a place of first-class wealth and wealth, a place where wealth gathers.

During the war, as a Jiedu envoy, he only had to think about the war, but if the battle was over, what kind of face he would have when facing these big clans in central Shu, was related to the wealth and lives of many people.

So this person surnamed Du is probably here to sniff out the news.

As a matter of fact, Fu Jinchuan guessed almost everything.

But things were more complicated than he thought.

The four prominent families in Central Shu are not monolithic, and even a single family cannot be consistent internally and externally.

Du's house is located in the south of Chengdu. It is said to be Du's house, but Chengdu people call it "Du's house".

Because this Du house is composed of nearly a hundred courtyards connected together, and the family lives together, which is enough for a square.

The Du family has been in the middle of Sichuan for hundreds of years, and has always been a famous family. They have survived the catastrophe safely when Chengdu in the middle of Shu changed hands several times. It will soon be back in their hands.So the family is not bad.

The core of Du's House, that is, the real Du's house, is actually not that big, it's just a courtyard with three entrances.

The door is not wide, and the word "Du Zhai" is hung on the plaque on the door, which means that it is the imperial pen of a former emperor who occupied the middle of Sichuan.

This is the ancestral home of the Du family, and now it is the ancestral hall of the Du family, and it is also the meeting place of the family.

As the patriarch, Duji is nearly seventy years old, but he is still in good health.

Bringing more than a dozen clansmen to offer incense to the ancestors, then turned around and looked at the crowd and said, "The New Year is approaching, have you finished all the accounts?"

Ying Da, a middle-aged man standing next to him, said: "Back to Uncle, the income of the farm has already been counted, and the harvest is good, [-]% more than last year. Only a few villages in Puzhou were looted by bandits. "

After hearing this, Du Ji nodded and said, "There's nothing you can do about it, but the tenants of these farms have been plowing the fields for the Du family for generations. Since the harvest is good this year, we need to give these tenants emergency food. Is there any problem with storing food?"

This middle-aged man is Du Ji's nephew, named Du Heng. He is in his early forties and is in charge of the Du family's property, various manors and grain shops in the city.

Du Heng said: "Uncle, don't worry, the food storage here is the lifeblood of our Du family. I have checked everywhere in the past few days, and there is nothing wrong with the food storage."

Whether it is a wealthy family or a small family, food is the top priority.

After all, if there is no food to eat, people will really starve to death.

Even sometimes money is not as important as food.This kind of big family especially understands this truth. If there is a bad year and there is a flood of locusts, the food will save their lives and make a fortune.

Then Du Ji asked about the mines and salt wells one by one, and finally looked at everyone and said: "It seems that the Chinese New Year is coming, and this year in Sichuan is not peaceful, you should also pay attention, don't be too ostentatious when you go out. The current sword Marquis Wu'an, the governor of the South Road, is a noble from Shangjing, and has never had any contact with us. Be careful about some things, and don't fall into other people's hands. Unlike His Highness the King of Shu, this Marquis really dares to kill people."

Those standing below are all his juniors, and they naturally agreed after hearing the words of the patriarch.

After coming out of the ancestral hall, Du Heng followed his eldest son, Du Xu, all the way back home.

After entering the house, Du Heng asked after he entered the inner hall and sat down, "Is there any clue about that matter?"

Du Xu froze for a moment after hearing his father's question, and immediately knew what Aye was talking about.

"Returning to Aye, there is no news from the prince. It is only the third day since Marquis Wu'an just returned to Chengdu. Lingzhou and Puzhou are still fighting. Even if you want to see me for the sake of the prince, it will not be so. Hurry up. I think it will be good to see Marquis Wu An in the next year."

Du Heng nodded after listening, and then said: "Many people in the clan complained about my management of the property, but it was because of your uncle's prestige, and I was considerate in taking care of it. .However, your uncle is old after all, and when your third uncle is in charge in the future, I guess I will stand aside. I have never touched the salt and iron things in the clan, so I can only do some on the land. It is planned that we will pay for the five thousand acres of military settlements, and the son of the king of Shu will save face, so it should be safe to eat together."

"Who knows that there is chaos in Sichuan at this time, and the imperial court has sent this Marquis of Wu'an and set up a Jiedu envoy. If he wants to check the number of acres in the army, he will definitely not be able to hide this matter. Now he can only find a way to hide it. Only when Marquis Wu'an has gone through this way can he be safe and sound."

After hearing this, Du Xu said: "Aye, Marquis Wu'an came from a famous family and has a little bit of money, so he might not be able to take a fancy to it, right? I always feel that this matter is not so easy to settle, after all, this is a military settlement with thousands of acres."

"Just try your best. This is for the prince to see. Even if something happens in the end, he will still have the bottom line. The sky is falling, so naturally the tall man will bear it."

(End of this chapter)