Aspirations for Nation and Beauty: Section 5 Fighting Wits
The horse-drawn carriage runs lightly on the avenue from Bonan to Qingyang. This avenue is also one of the main traffic arteries planned in the Northwest. , when it comes to autumn, the rows of fir trees from a distance are like guards in golden armor guarding both sides of the road, which is very pleasing to the eye. Although the traffic flow of people and vehicles on this road is quite large all year round, the good road condition still makes the horse-drawn carriages running on the avenue look extremely brisk.
The delicate and melodious sound of the wind chimes makes people feel like returning to the girl's boudoir. The silk veil blown by the wind gently caresses the two girls sitting between the windows on both sides of the carriage like lovers. They both have something on their minds, but the beautiful and charming spring scenery outside the window can hardly touch the hearts of the two of them. Although they look out of the window from time to time, anyone with a discerning eye can tell that the second daughter is absent-minded.
Since the one-night long talk at Zhegu Pass, the relationship between the two daughters seems to have become much closer. From Zhegu Pass via Yangmakou to Bonan, which is more than a hundred miles away, the two girls took the same car , all the way, talk about everything, some people say that two outstanding women walking together is the most troublesome, in order to prove that they are not inferior to each other's talent, they will show themselves as much as possible, even if there is no audience next to them.
Although there was a lot of chatting and laughing all the way, one was born smart with shrewdness, and the other was calm and introverted with hidden sharpness. After it was difficult for each other to probe into each other's details, the two women seemed to adopt the same method by coincidence, that is, to try their best Bring up the topic and let the other party openly discuss, maybe you can hear something from the other party's words, but it seems that the two women have somewhat violated their original intentions later, seeing the other party's quotes from others, but how can I bear it? But how can I endure it, so I confront each other again, each trying their best to refuse to give in to each other.
But even though they are talking about the past and the present, the two girls gradually admired each other's opinions during the conversation. You must know that the two girls are quite conceited. It's not easy to be a speculative person, and they are still the same sex. During the verbal confrontation, the friendship between the two women is gradually warming up, but the two women still maintain a bottom line of vigilance, that is, they will never reveal their true identities.
The carriage seemed extraordinarily quiet, only the whistling wind came in through the cracks in the door and the window lattice, and slipped out with a swish. The two girls were thinking about the scene they saw from the West Gate of Bonan early in the morning. They didn't expect that when the gate opened early in the morning, there would be an endless motorcade entering the city vigorously, and some of them entered the major businesses in the city. The warehouse, part of which went directly to the staff of the Taxation Department to pay the tax, then turned south and went straight to the river port wharf in Horseshoe Town, dozens of miles away, where it was loaded and shipped to the owner.
Yesterday, the two daughters were supposed to set off to head west, but as soon as they entered Bonan City, the two daughters both wanted to take a look at the beautiful scenery of the porcelain capital in the western part of the empire, which has been in decline for a long time.
When the two of them inspected the kiln area of Baishui Town on the outskirts of the city and the huge trading market in the central business district of the city, the two daughters were stunned. The kiln area of Baishui Town stretching for more than ten kilometers has formed an unusually large and busy mixed industrial and commercial area. There is an endless stream of caravans who come to buy goods and negotiate. Business is booming and overcrowded. Many businessmen from all over the place simply live there for convenience. There even formed a small labor market spontaneously. Skilled workers can be immediately recruited by kiln owners with high salaries, and unskilled workers can also be recruited by kiln owners for a period of pre-job training, and then gradually adapt Work.
And the trading market in Bonan City was an eye-opener for the two daughters. Compared with the trading market in the imperial capital, the scale is naturally much smaller, but this is only a trading market in a remote city of the empire, and its excitement is not the slightest. No less than those markets in large cities. Due to the particularity of Bonan, the trading area of ceramic products naturally accounts for a large proportion. Merchants with huge funds can mobilize huge sums of money to buy out a large number of products from the kiln owners in the kiln area, and then hoard them in warehouses. If the foreign merchants of the goods want to be convenient and fast, they can directly negotiate here, and the speed and efficiency are much faster than buying in the kiln district. Of course, there are also shrewd kiln owners who reserve part of the goods, or open their own shops. One kiln shop is up for sale. As long as there are suitable merchants, they can even sell for a good price.
Every part of Bonan City, full of vigor and vitality, had a huge impact on the two daughters. Although the two daughters had heard of the rapid development of the Northwest through various channels before they came to the Northwest, but in their In my mind, Northwest is still only synonymous with frontier land.
In their imagination, no matter how fast the Northwest develops, it is impossible to make a big difference in just a few years. You must know that Bonan lived in dozens of imperial palaces a few years ago, before Li Wufeng took over the Northwest. But those who ranked in the bottom three, especially Lin Yuexin, knew better, because the intelligence personnel who returned from the northwest learned that Bonan City was already dilapidated and dying, and it was not even comparable to some big market towns in the Central Plains and Jiangnan. Seeing her today, why couldn't she be shocked? In contrast, the steady development of Sanjiang County and the Northwest seem to lack an indescribable feeling. Lin Yuexin tried hard to find in her mind, yes, it is the word, vigor, a kind of vigorous vigor , Sanjiang under the rule of the Lin family gave me the feeling that it lacked this kind of momentum.
As for Sophia, she was also deeply moved. During the two years in the imperial capital, she had also heard about the rapid development of the Northwest. However, influenced by Situ Yushuang, she also believed that the Northwest just drove away Luo Bei after Li Wufeng took over. People, the normal recovery of the economy is nothing more than the normal recovery of the economy. The news media's hype about Li Wufeng was just for political needs. At that time, the Northwest needed such an image to boost people's hearts and morale, so it was just a vague impression. The other party's performance in military strategy, she did not expect to see Li Wufeng's ability in economic management when she watched it in Bonan City. , making her even more curious about this enigmatic character.
Casting a leisurely glance at Lin Yuexin, who was still in a state of contemplation, Sophia asked softly in her magnetic voice: "Sister, you seem to have something on your mind, is there something wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Lin Yuexin was awakened from her contemplation, and pulled herself together, "It's just that I've never traveled so far before, so I feel a little tired."
"The girl might as well go to Qingyang and have a good rest. She is not in good health. If she becomes sick from overwork, it will delay the matter." Sophia took a deep look at the other party and said with concern.
"Well, it seems that I have to go to Qingyang to take a rest. Fortunately, there is still enough time, so there is no need to rush." Lin Yuexin agreed smoothly.
From time to time, the galloping carriage overtook the caravans loaded with goods on the avenue. The heavy cargo made these convoys much slower than this carriage, and since pottery and porcelain were fragile items, it also affected the speed of the carriage. very restrictive. Looking at the caravans that were left behind, Sophia and Lin Yuexin were filled with unspeakable feelings.
"Sister, it seems that the situation in the west is not as tense as what I heard at home. So many caravans are still transporting goods to the west, and they should all go to the Central and Western Continent or the Tengger Grassland area Right, I didn’t see that they have any worries or fears?” Sophia came to the northwest under the guise of investigating the security situation of the trade route, and seeing the situation in front of her, she naturally made use of it.
"Well, I'm not too sure about this, but I didn't hear too many topics about this in Bonan yesterday, probably because Li Wufeng has already solved the problem in the west." Lin Yuexin also had some Confused, after all, the Western Regions and Luzon heard that they were fighting with Li Wufeng some time ago, but knowing the specific situation, there was still no accurate information when she left Sanjiang ~IndoMTL.com~ So she couldn't make an accurate judgment, as early as Bonan's own deeds It was already somewhat eye-catching. So I dare not inquire at will, so as not to attract the attention of interested people.
"Solved? Oh, then this Li Wufeng really has some skills. He can easily eliminate both the Western Regions and Luzon. He is indeed the number one general of the empire." After being unusual, Sophia intentionally or unintentionally brought up various sensitive issues involving the empire during the conversation, hoping to spy on the other party's reaction through these issues. At this time, she also deliberately mentioned it to see how concerned the other party was.
"Well, it counts. Not only is that guy a good player in war, sister, let's see how Bonan City is under his governance. How can it look like a small deserted town? I'm afraid it is better than a few decades ago. It was even worse when it was at its peak, right?" Lin Yuexin paid more attention to the other party's ability in knowing people and making good use of them and developing the economy. He decides, and how to choose a place's chief officer is the best way to test the ruling ability and political skills of a Jiedushi who has the power to rule a huge territory. According to the observation of Bonan's current performance, whether it is Li Wufeng Or the local chief officials of Bonan Mansion performed unexpectedly well.
"Sister seems to have a high opinion of this Li Wufeng? But to be honest, my sister is also full of this man's deeds in the imperial capital, and the newspapers and magazines in the imperial capital blow him up. He is the unique young hero since the establishment of the empire. It is a pity that I have never had the opportunity to see the true face of this person, and I really want to see what kind of person he is." Sophia did not want to hide her curiosity about Li Wufeng.