ebookland Chapter 184 The shocking fact
Chapter 184 The shocking fact
Shen Tingzhi looked at the food in front of him and asked, "What's going on? Isn't this Pinlou owned by Zuo Beichen? When did our family get involved?"
"In reply to the Second Young Master, this Yipinlou originally belonged to Young Master Zuo, but now Young Master Zuo is ours. He gave this Yipinlou, no, all his shops in Shangjing City, to the Empress. Now this Yipinlou belongs to our family."
Shen Tingzhi was shocked by the manager's words. This first-class building is his home?
Zuo Beichen is really generous. He gave this Pin-Tianlou away just like that, and his precious sister actually wanted it?
Seeing that Shen Tingzhi remained silent, the steward continued, "The Empress said that the money earned from the shops Zuo Beichen gave us should be used for military supplies at the border and for future wars."
Shen Tingzhi raised his head. He understood why his sister accepted Zuo Beichen's gift. Military supplies and wars were the most expensive things. A war would not be possible without three to five million taels of silver.
What's more, if there is a war among multiple countries in the future, won't the money needed be even greater?
Their Zhenbei Marquis Mansion is rich, but no matter how rich it is, it cannot withstand the consumption of war. War is equivalent to burning money, and no matter how much money there is, it will be spent all.
This multinational war is now inevitable, it is just a matter of time. A general never goes to war without preparation, but now facing this impending war, they are not prepared at all, and everything is still in preparation.
Shen Tingzhi sighed silently in his heart. His Jiaojiao really had a hard time. He should have come back earlier to help her.
"Are you usually the only one managing this place?"
Shen Tingzhi thought that if there were not enough people, he could mobilize some more people from Zhenbei Hou to help, and the plan to cultivate various talents must be arranged immediately.
"Mr. Zuo's shops are now all managed by Madam Qiong, and the managers of each shop are all from the Marquis of Zhenbei Mansion."
"Madam Qiong comes to inspect every two weeks to check on the business situation and areas for improvement."
The steward reported the situation to Shen Tingzhi diligently and responsibly. The Queen Mother had already explained that Yipinlou and the shops in Shangjing City were not under her name, but under the name of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion. Therefore, the young masters of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion were the real masters of Yipinlou.
"Is that so?" Shen Tingzhi looked at the steward and suddenly asked, "Compared to our Yipin Building and Songhe Building, which one is stronger?"
In Shen Tingzhi's opinion, Yipinlou's environment and food are far superior to Songhelou.
Songhe Tower, once the best building in the capital, has reached the time to give up its position.
"Second Young Master, you have been away from the capital for many years. The trend in our Upper Capital has long since changed."
"It's been less than two years since Master Zuo founded Yipinlou, and the top building in Shangjing City is no longer Songhelou, but Yipinlou."
"Songhelou only welcomes officials now, but our Yipinlou welcomes everyone, whether they are officials, businessmen, scholars, or students."
The steward suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Our Yipinlou is not only a place for dining and gathering, but also a place for gathering intelligence."
"Miss Qiu Tong has established a tight intelligence network here. She's gained a lot of useful intelligence from merchants traveling around, officials in the imperial court, even students at the Imperial Academy, and the children of various families in the capital."
Shen Tingzhi smiled. The women in their Zhenbei Marquis Mansion were really stronger than the men. Now each one was more powerful than the other.
It seems that he will have to work harder in the future, otherwise he will be outdone.
Thinking of this, a slightly immature face suddenly appeared in Shen Tingzhi's mind. It was the young Zuo Beichen.
Although the Zuo family is not among the aristocratic families, they are still a family with a certain status in the capital.
So sometimes, everyone meets each other at a party or banquet organized by others. The impression may not be very deep, but everyone still knows each other.
In Shen Tingzhi's impression, Zuo Beichen is a very quiet person. He doesn't talk much and always likes to listen to others. He rarely expresses his own opinions and comments.
But no one expected that this inconspicuous child would become so powerful now, and could stand out and defeat Songhe Tower, making Yipin Tower the number one building in Shangjing City.
Not only that, he was able to maintain a balance with the owner of Songhe Tower, Zheng Guang, the Prince of Huai, who came from a prominent family, and they each managed their own affairs without interfering with each other. That was a remarkable thing.
Zheng Guang was born into a prominent family, so he was inevitably a bit spoiled and overbearing. As long as there was business related to the Huai Palace, he was the only one who got a share.
But Zuo Beichen actually managed to be on par with Zheng Guangping and still live in peace. He is truly a remarkable person.
Although Zuo Shilang was not a very good person, he unexpectedly gave birth to a son who was so outstanding. This was really a stroke of luck.
Shen Tingzhi was very curious about what Zuo Beichen was like now. He suddenly wanted to meet this man who could make Zheng Guang lose face. "Is Mr. Zuo still coming to Yipinlou now?"
"He does, but not often. He only comes to visit occasionally. And he's about to leave for the north with Miss Qiu Tong and the caravan, leaving Yunli to do business with those people."
"I'm afraid they're so busy preparing the goods right now that they're practically running out of space."
The manager is called Shen Chao, and he is also a servant of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion. His loyalty to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion is unquestionable, so he was sent to be the manager of Yipintang.
In addition to managing the affairs of Yipinlou, Shen Chao also has to help Zuo Beichen prepare materials for this business in his spare time. This matter is a secret that cannot be disclosed to anyone, but the person who came today is his second young master, so he told everything.
If it were someone else, he wouldn't reveal a single word even if a knife was put to his neck to kill him.
Shen Tingzhi faced a lot of things when he came back, so Shen Tianjiao had not had time to tell him that Zuo Beichen and Qiu Tong were going to take the caravan out of the country to do business.
Shen Tingzhi quickly grasped the key point in Shen Chao's words. Taking the caravan out of the country to do business meant going to the countries around Yunli.
Not only that, but Qiu Tong also wanted to follow. Shen Tingzhi quickly understood the intention of his sister's actions. Jiaojiao wanted Yun Li's intelligence network to infiltrate the surrounding countries and serve as the vanguard for the multinational war that would come soon.
Shen Tingzhi, who had figured it out, was suddenly very excited. Jiaojiao was really amazing. She could think of things that others couldn't think of, and she could put them into action.
When two armies fight, besides strength, the most important thing is intelligence. With the most authentic and reliable intelligence, you can seize the initiative, and then take the initiative to achieve an overwhelming victory while reducing casualties.
Shen Tingzhi had also been to the battlefield, and he knew very well what this meant. In addition to the joy of victory, more lives would be saved.
Let many Yunli people look forward to seeing their sons, husbands, and fathers return, so that their families can be reunited.
There are no longer loyal bones buried in the green mountains, leaving only the cries of sorrow.
Shen Tingzhi calmed himself down and said to Shen Chao, "Okay, I'll go back first. If anyone dares to cause trouble here, just send someone to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion to find me and I'll handle it."
This Yipin Building is not only the property of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, but also carries the hopes of countless Yunli soldiers and common people. Therefore, anyone who dares to touch the Yipin Building is going against him, Shen Tingzhi.
From the moment he left Yipinlou until he returned home, Shen Tingzhi was in a state of excitement that he could not extricate himself.
He couldn't imagine how happy his father and elder brother would be if they knew about this.
"Second Young Master, what's wrong with you?" Looking at Shen Tingzhi, who looked happy but restless, Chunchao was very puzzled. He just went out to have a meal with the young master of the Gong family, so why did he become a different person when he came back?
The second young master, who was usually calm and composed even under great pressure, was now smiling so happily that it made people feel uneasy.
"Ah, it's okay, it's okay." Shen Tingzhi was eager to go to the hot spring villa right now to tell his father and elder brother about this.
But thinking of Zhenbei Hou and Shen Yiyang, who were still detoxifying and healing, and could not have too much emotional fluctuation, Shen Tingzhi had to suppress his impulse.
When Shen Tingzhi saw Chunchao, he remembered that Chunchao was the senior palace maid who served Shen Tianjiao personally. So Chunchao must know more about the matter of Shen Tianjiao leaving the palace to do business.
"Chunchao, let me ask you, did you know that Jiaojiao asked Zuo Beichen and Qiu Tong to lead the caravan out of the customs to do business?"
"That matter, I know. They will leave in one or two days."
Thinking about how many dangers Qiu Tong would encounter on this trip, Chunchao felt heavy-hearted.
They are sisters who grew up together and have long been a family. How could she, as an older sister, not be worried when her younger sister goes on a long journey and does something extremely dangerous?
"Then tell me, what caused this incident? What are Jiaojiao's plans?"
Although Shen Tingzhi had already guessed his sister's plan, he still wanted to confirm it.
"What caused this incident?" Chunchao thought for a moment and said, "It started because General Bai's son, Bai Yunchi, was recruited into the palace by the master and asked Qiutong to teach him kung fu."
"Then Zuo Beichen heard the news that Bai Yunchi had entered the palace, so he begged his uncle, Prime Minister Wang, to let him enter the palace as well."
"After the master gave his approval, Zuo Beichen entered the palace and presented all his assets to the master, saying that he wanted to contribute to Yunli's prosperity."
"My master was worried about money at the time. Not only had the emperor made the palace a mess over the years, he had also squandered the money in the national treasury until there was almost nothing left."
"General Yan's military expenses for suppressing the rebellion were all taken from the master's own private treasury."
"After accepting these things from Zuo Beichen, the master promised Zuo Beichen that he would help him avenge his mother's murder and make sure not only Minister Zuo, but also the entire Zuo family, receive the due punishment."
"Because the national treasury is empty, the master's private treasury has been almost completely emptied out after years of patching up the holes here and there, so we must find a way to make money as soon as possible."
"Zuo Beichen said that we can go out of the customs to engage in business and trade, and he has several caravans of his own. As long as we prepare the supplies, we can set off."
"The master thought this would help us raise the money needed for the future war as quickly as possible, so he agreed."
"Then I thought of asking Qiu Tong to go with us, and taking all the people we trained with us. After we pass through the customs, we will leave some people in each place where we can trade and establish an intelligence network."
"With these intelligence networks, we can infiltrate those countries, so that we can obtain intelligence in advance, make good deployments to reduce casualties and strive for the greatest victory."
Sure enough, his sister's plan was the same as his own. Shen Tingzhi couldn't help but praise her: "She is indeed my sister. She is worthy of being a general's daughter. Her foresight and courage are truly unmatched."
Shen Tianjiao's changes were so great that Shen Tingzhi felt both relieved and distressed. His sister, who should have been protected and lived a carefree life, had suddenly grown into an adult.
What on earth did his sister go through to become like this? As a brother, how could he not feel heartbroken?
Fortunately, he is back now. From now on, these things can be left to him, and he will protect his sister.
"Where are the two children? Are they still asleep or have they already returned to the palace?" Shen Tingzhi asked as he looked at the box of snacks he brought back.
"I've woken up, but I haven't returned to the palace yet, Your Highness. No, it's His Highness the Crown Prince who said he'll wait until you come back before he returns. Do you want to invite His Highness the Crown Prince over now?"
Li Muyang suddenly became His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and Chunchao really couldn't adapt to it.
Shen Tingzhi smiled and pointed to the snack box on the table and said, "This is the snack I brought back. Please set it out and make some tea. After they finish eating, I will send them back to the palace."
"Second Young Master, the things we brought back from outside cannot be given to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Chunchao felt embarrassed when looking at the snack box. Although this was a token of the Second Young Master's good intentions, the things brought back from outside really could not be given to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Whether it is clean or not is secondary. The problem is that if someone has tampered with the things brought back from outside and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince eats them, it will be a big disaster.
"It's okay, let them eat. These are snacks brought back from Yipinlou. If you don't feel comfortable with the snacks brought back from Yipinlou, then why would Yipinlou still be open?"
How could Shen Tingzhi not know Chunchao's worries? But these dim sum were brought back from Yipintang. If there was any problem, then Yipintang should really close down.