Lu Chen felt that if this unhealthy trend could not be curbed, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Embroidered Uniform Guard would sooner or later be in trouble.
Some time ago, a businessman found him and invited him to dinner. He mentioned several times, both explicitly and implicitly, that his wife was a person of great potential, and hoped that the national teacher could help him appreciate and correct her.
Look, people in this era speak in such a flowery way. Something that is obviously extremely immoral can be expressed as if it were a work of art in the heart. It was the first time that Lu Chen knew that the word "axezheng" could be used in this way.
Speaking of merchants, Lu Chen remembered something and said, "Take my business card and send it to those merchants. Tell them that I want to treat them to a meal today and discuss some business with them. I hope they will do me the honor."
Soon the news spread throughout Yangzhou City. Lu Chen was actually going to host a banquet for a group of businessmen. Everyone stretched their necks to take a look at what kind of medicine Lu Chen was selling in his gourd.
The news also reached Fourth Master Qiao. Mr. Lai had returned from outside. He smiled and asked, holding a cup of tea, "Fourth Master, what do you think of this matter? What is that demon Taoist planning to do by contacting the merchants?"
Fourth Master Qiao sipped his tea and sneered disdainfully, "What else can we do? We should discuss with the merchants to see if we can help the affected areas with supplies. He's just a lousy Taoist priest, and he only brought a few people here. How can he help with disaster relief without relying on us locals?"
"So what does the Fourth Master plan to do? Will he attend this banquet?"
"Haha, join? You must be kidding. I have a lot of business to do, so I don't have the time. Tell everyone related to us that no one is allowed to go. They didn't openly take sides last time, so let's give them another chance this time."
"Also, how are your arrangements going down there? Do the people down there know what to do?"
"Don't worry, Fourth Master. Our Qiao family wants to do something in Yangzhou, and naturally there are no taboos. The people below have been eating our food for years, and everyone has expressed that they will definitely get the job done."
Qiao Si stood up with a smile and said, "In that case, let's wait and see the show."
That afternoon, Lu Chen did not continue fishing, but dressed neatly and waited for customers to come.
But what he didn't expect was that after sending out more than 30 invitations, only five people came.
Moreover, not all of these five people wanted to stay here for dinner. Two of them came, but insisted that they had things to do in the evening. This time they just came to visit Master Lu and express their gratitude, and they would not eat.
Lu Chen sneered in his heart. You came to my place and you still want to leave? If you leave, you will let me have dinner with three people? I have no shame?
So without saying a word, he immediately ordered the Jinyiwei to draw their swords, put them on the necks of the two men and forced them to sit down.
Lu Chen didn't understand. They were just a group of businessmen. Who gave them the courage to act so arrogantly in front of him?
After waiting for the five businessmen to take their seats, Lu Chen raised his glass and said with a smile, "Yangzhou is really a different place. Everyone is very busy. I sent out thirty invitations, and finally you all came. Is everyone else busy making money?"
The five people who came didn't dare to say anything about this matter. They just raised their glasses with a smile on their faces.
Lu Chen looked at everyone, put down his glass and said, "Making money is actually quite good. Only when you make a lot of money can you live a good life. But work also requires a balance between work and rest. If you work too hard and your body is exhausted, what will happen? Don't make a lot of money but lose your life. Who knows who will benefit from it for nothing."
After hearing this, everyone was shocked. What did Lu Chen mean by this? Was he threatening or did he really intend to kill a few people?
At this moment, Guo Bei hurriedly walked in from outside. When he saw Lu Chen, he knelt down and saluted, saying, "Master, something went wrong."
Lu Chen looked at Guo Bei and didn't rush to ask what the problem was. Instead, he smiled and pulled the man up. Pointing at him, he introduced him to everyone present, "Everyone, let me introduce you. This is our Jinyiwei Captain Guo Bei. Lord Guo has been busy clearing out the remnants of the former Huaiyin Marquis. He has made great military achievements for our court."
When the five merchants present heard the words "clear the Huaiyin Marquis", they shuddered in their hearts again.
Some time ago, because of the incident involving Marquis Huaiyin, the Jinyiwei killed many people in the south. Naturally, these well-informed businessmen knew about this.
Now that they finally saw the executioner who led the group, how could these businessmen not be afraid?
This was exactly the effect Lu Chen was aiming for. After seeing the five businessmen's expressions change, he patted Guo Bei on the shoulder and said, "Old Guo, what happened? I told you before, you're a captain of the Imperial Guard. You should act with the demeanor of an Imperial Guard. Even if the sky falls, you can't panic."
Guo Bei lowered his head hurriedly and said, "I have taken note of the teachings of the Grand Master, but the matter is somewhat urgent. I hope the Grand Master can deal with it quickly."
Lu Chen handed Guo Bei a cup of tea and said, "Tell me, what happened?"
"Well, one of our ships transporting medicinal herbs was detained. The local authorities said they wanted to conduct a routine inspection."
Lu Chen nodded. The local government in Yangzhou did have the right to inspect ships. Many times, contraband and pirates were transported by ships, so even ships transporting disaster relief supplies had to be inspected.
Logically speaking, this is not a big deal. They have official backgrounds, and as long as they cooperate well, the local authorities will not make things difficult for them.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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