Jiuxi

Chapter 261 259 [Son of Borealis]

Pushing the time forward slightly, while Lu Chen was working hard for the Battle of Leize, Lu Tong also had no time to relax.

The secret conversation between the father and son when they came to Ancheng decided the development direction of the Lu family. While maintaining the scale of the business, they must seize the time to cultivate more confidants.

Whether it is craftsmen with various skills or young people with military talents, they are rare talents in this era. Even Lu Tong cannot conjure them out of thin air.

He could only work tirelessly to travel around Huaizhou. On the one hand, he personally inspected potential candidates who met the standards, and on the other hand, at the end of the year, he stopped by to inspect the income of various businesses.

On the second day of the first lunar month, Lu Tong came to Taixing Mansion.

Among the six prefectures in Huaizhou, Taixing Prefecture, as the seat of the governor of Huaizhou, is second only to Guangling Prefecture as the hub of the north and south sides in terms of development. The Lu family has more than 20 shops in Taixing Prefecture and the counties below.

In the afternoon of that day, Lu Tong had just finished inspecting the first shop in Fucheng when he was very politely invited over by the chief governor of the governor's office.

The Governor's Mansion is located in the north city. It is a grand government office with six paths and five halls facing south. It has the front square, the mansion gate, the instrument gate, the main hall, the meeting hall, and the back hall as the central axis. There are more than 20 seats on the east and west sides. Palace buildings.

When he arrived outside the door of the meeting hall, Chang Shi stopped and turned around, saying to Lu Tong: "Except Mr. Lu, the Governor is in the hall, please."

This member is not that member, and it does not refer to official positions such as Yuanwailang. It initially refers to people who are famous but idle at home. Later, it gradually expanded to an honorific title for rural gentlemen and noble families.

Logically speaking, Shi, the Governor of the Prefecture, naturally did not need such respect, but he obviously knew that the slightly wealthy middle-aged man in front of him was extremely tough.

"I'd like to help you, sir."

Lu Tong bowed his hands and walked into the meeting hall with a calm expression.

"Caomin Lu Tong, pay homage to Mr. Fang Bo."

Lu Tong calmly saluted the middle-aged man in regular clothes in the hall.

Fang Bo is an honorific title for local officials such as the governor, but these two words came from a merchant, which made people laugh a little bit.

The middle-aged man did not show any contempt. He had a clear face, elegant temperament, and a warm smile that made people feel like spring breeze. He was Yao Chong, the governor of Huaizhou.

"Brother Lu Xian, there's no need to be polite. It's not the first time we've met, so why be so solemn. Come on, please sit down."

Yao Chong's tone was gentle, and his words were not deliberately pretentious.

The strength of the Lu Family Company is among the best in Huaizhou. Whether it was the Yan Army's southern invasion last year or the Huaizhou Army's Northern Expedition this year, the government used the Lu Family Company to stabilize prices and raise food and grass. The two had met many times before, so naturally they were not Nodding acquaintance.

Lu Tong said humbly: "Thanks to Uncle Fang, I don't dislike it, but ordinary people dare not be rude."

Yao Chong smiled. As a feudal official in charge of the people's livelihood in a state, how could he ignore the details of wealthy businessmen such as Lu Tong under his rule? Although he did not know everything about him, he also knew about Lu Tong and Huaizhou Governor Xiao. The relationship between Wang and Wang is quite close.

The two of them sat down one after another, the servant served them tea, and then left quietly.

"The Northern Expedition is progressing smoothly. My son has made another great contribution and helped Xiao Dadu capture several cities. It can be seen that Lu Xiandi has taught his children well and cultivated such a promising young hero for Daqi. After hearing this, I couldn't help but raise my hands and shout, I made an exception and drank two glasses of water and wine.”

Yao Chong opened the conversation with a smile, his words full of praise for Lu Chen.

If these words came from an ordinary scene, Lu Tong would definitely feel happy, but what is the situation now?

When he was inspecting the storefront of his own business, he was invited over by the governor of the governor's office, Shi, who suddenly appeared. He seemed polite but was unquestionable. On the way, he did not explain what the governor's important business was. After entering the meeting hall, Yao Chong also avoided talking about it. Anyone with a right mind would know that there must be something weird in it, let alone Lu Tong, who had spent most of his life trying to figure out people's hearts.

But compared to Lu Chen's youthful vigor, Lu Tong was obviously more calm. He immediately smiled and said: "Uncle Fang is so complimentary. Although Lu Chen has achieved little, it is all because of the appreciation and teaching of Governor Xiao, as well as the military personnel. Generals’ advice and love. In fact, he still has many shortcomings, and what he needs most at the moment is to calm down and improve himself.”

Yao Chong sighed with emotion: "You are too humble. I don't know how many young people in the army, how many of them can be as outstanding as Lu Chen? Not to mention others, the second son of Governor Xiao joined the army at a young age because of his family background. Now he is just Guangling The deputy commander of the army, and Lu Chen will definitely be able to lead the army on his own after this battle. Looking at the hundreds of thousands of Qi frontier troops, the young man who can do this in his weak years is the only one."

Lu Tong's heart suddenly moved.

The so-called obedience, Yao Chong's repeated praise must have some deep meaning.

It is human nature for a father to praise his son, but with Yao Chong's identity and status, there is no need to deliberately praise Lu Tong's skill in raising his son. If he wanted to get closer and get closer, a few words of praise would be enough, no need to write such a long and colorful article like now.

It seemed that the person sitting in front of him was not a wealthy businessman from a state, but a big shot at the level of prime minister above the court. "Master Fang Bo showed his love and care, and the people thanked him on behalf of Quanzi, but he really can't deserve such praise."

Lu Tong said it with a calm expression.

Yao Chong smiled faintly, and seeing that the heat was not yet over, he changed the topic and said, "I invite my dear brother to come over today. First, I haven't seen you for a while, and I happened to know that you arrived in Taixing Mansion. Second, the Lu family firm has contributed a lot before, and I On behalf of the Huaizhou Governor's Office, I would like to express my gratitude to you in person."

Lu Tong said unhurriedly: "Your Majesty, your words are serious. It is the Lu family's duty to contribute to the Northern Expedition. How can we take credit? In fact, the grassroots people originally wanted to pay their respects to you. Considering that it is a critical period for the Northern Expedition recently, your Majesty must be busy with official duties. So I don’t dare to come to the door and make trouble.”

"This is out of context. If you have free time in the future, you can come to Taixing more often."

Yao Chong acted like a polite corporal today and immediately continued the previous topic: "As for the third reason, I accidentally heard some time ago that Lu Xiandi had experience in the army?"

Lu Tong's expression remained unchanged, but he chuckled in his heart and nodded calmly: "To be honest with Mr. Fang, the common people did have some experience in the military when they were young. It's shameful that the common people have no martial arts and are not familiar with the military. It didn't take long for them to join the army. He was driven out of the family, and finally had to take over the family business and practice businessmanship."

"This is a blessing rather than a curse."

Yao Chong looked gentle and continued: "If Lu Xiandi had not left the army, how could there be today's wealthy and loyal Lu family righteous merchants? Furthermore, although Lu Xiandi himself was not in the army, he also trained a child like Lu Chen. Now that he has made many meritorious deeds in the army, it is enough to prove your ability, and it is enough to show that the general who asked you to withdraw from the army did not know the talent of people."

Lu Tong did not take the conversation and just smiled respectfully.

Yao Chongruo asked unintentionally: "Speaking of which, I wonder where Lu Xiandi served in the army?"

When he asked this question, Lu Tong suddenly felt enlightened.

He deliberately frowned and thought for a moment, and then said with shame: "It's been a long time, so I can't remember it for a moment. I hope you can forgive me. The grassroots joined the army in March of the first year of Yuankang, and were dismissed in the spring of the second year of Yuankang. I still remember that at that time, Ling The Changshan Army was stationed on Weinan Road in what is now Puppet Yan. The organizational structure of the Changshan Army has been abolished long ago. The general who cleared out the grassroots was named Han Baichun. I wonder if you have heard of it?"

"Never heard of it."

Yao Chong smiled slightly, but felt a little annoyed in his heart.

It stands to reason that Lu Tong's military experience will definitely be archived, but this is not the actual situation.

After the Yuanjia Incident, Li Duan hurriedly ascended the throne in Yongjia City, and some nobles from the north rushed south in a hurry. Who still paid attention to the files and documents of various ministries in Heluo City?

Ten or twenty years have passed, where can I find the original records?

Although not all the people back then were dead, and it was not completely hopeless to trace Lu Tong's resume, the best he could do was confirm a rough idea.

If we follow the left prime minister's instructions to connect Lu Tong with that Marshal Yang, at least judging from the information currently available, it is impossible.

Yao Chong judged from Lu Tong's reaction that his story should not be false. However, the Lingzhou Changshan Army had been disbanded before the Yuanjia Incident, and Han Baichun had died on the battlefield long ago. Who knows why he wanted to Lu Tong withdraws? Who can conclude that this was due to Yang Guangyuan's instruction?

In this era of extremely blocked information, Yao Chong asked himself that he did not have the ability to look up an old military incident from twenty years ago.

So far in the conversation, although Yao Chong has been talking about him, Lu Tong has roughly guessed the other party's true thoughts, and asked calmly: "Master Fang, is there something wrong with the past of Cao Min? ?”

His eyes were slightly sharp.

Yao Chong could naturally feel the change in this middle-aged man's demeanor. In fact, if Lu Tongming was on the surface, no matter how rich the Lu family business was, it would not be taken seriously by the governor of the state.

However, regardless of the relationship between Lu Tong and Xiao Wangzhi, Lu Chen's status in the army and the emperor's appreciation of him alone made no official dare to report a bad attitude to Lu Tong, a business intermediary.

After a moment of silence, Yao Chong finally lifted the first layer of fog, looked directly into Lu Tong's eyes and said, "Brother Lu Xian may not know that there has been a bizarre rumor in Beijing recently, related to you and Lu Chen. The Left Prime Minister is very concerned about this, Therefore, I was ordered to consult privately to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."

Lu Tong then asked: "You can actually alarm the left prime minister, but I don't know what the rumor is?"

Yao Chong sighed softly and said word by word: "The rumors are sensational, saying that Lu Chen is not Lu Xiandi's biological son, but the posthumous son of the guilty minister Yang Guangyuan, and you will raise him on your behalf."

When he said this, his eyes were fixed on Lu Tong's face, trying to find clues from the subtle changes in his expression.

(End of this chapter)