The head of the Deng family took the book handed to him by the steward, opened one of them, and was struck by how neat and orderly the person's handwriting was.
"Hmm, you can tell a lot of effort went into these characters," the Deng family head praised, stroking his beard.
The steward gestured to him, "Sir, take a look at another one."
"This one is also neatly written, and it's quite good!"
Deng Jiazhu did not enjoy reading as a child, so he did not study calligraphy much.
Lu Changsheng took the book and examined it closely, discovering a problem: "How are these two books made to be exactly the same?"
"Sir, there are hundreds of such books in the bookstore, and they are very inexpensive," the manager said.
"How much?"
The steward held up one finger.
The head of the Deng family guessed, "One tael of silver?"
The steward shook his head, and the Deng family head continued to guess, "One coin?"
"Could it be that it only costs one hundred coins?" Lu Changsheng asked, looking at the book in his hand.
The manager stopped speaking in riddles and said, "It's one hundred coins."
"One hundred coins!" Patriarch Deng and Lu Changsheng said in unison, exchanging an incredulous glance.
"One hundred coins can't even buy a pound of coarse salt."
Why is it so cheap?
The head of the Deng family was puzzled. He carefully examined the two books. The paper was not bad and the font was neat and beautiful. Why did they only sell for one hundred coins?
Lu Changsheng asked the steward, "Where did this book come from?"
"They were sent from Longtan. It's said to be their latest printing technology. The books they sent include not only primers but also many classics. People are going crazy buying them up in bookstores."
"You only bought these two books?" Lu Changsheng returned the books to him.
The manager chuckled twice, then lowered his head sheepishly. "I bought these two primers for my grandson. We can't understand the other books that are too profound, so they're useless to us."
"Big brother, let's go take a look."
On a main street in the center of Cangwu County, a crowd had gathered in front of a bookstore.
Aunt Zhang, who received the news immediately, managed to squeeze in and grab a book. Just as she was about to pay, someone snatched the book from under her arm.
She turned around angrily and saw that the person who had snatched her book was none other than Granny Li, who was blind in one eye.
"Old Lady Li, why are you trying to steal my book?"
Granny Li: "Isn't that obvious? You're definitely going to read the books you buy."
"Pah! Are you blind? What are you doing reading? Give me back my book right now!" Aunt Zhang said angrily.
Granny Li clutched the book tightly to her chest, looking as if she would rather die than give it up.
"I'm blind, I'll buy it for my son and grandson. You have good eyesight, hurry up and go in and grab another one."
After finishing her sentence, Granny Li turned her back and ignored Aunt Zhang. Aunt Zhang gritted her teeth in anger and squeezed into the shop again with her strong body.
With a smile, Granny Li took out a small cloth bag wrapped tightly in rags from her sleeve, opened it three layers deep, counted out one hundred coins, and handed it to the waiter.
"Little brother, count them and see if you're right."
The waiter quickly counted the silver. "The money is correct, one hundred coins is right. Auntie, please take this."
Granny Li clutched her chest and groped her way home.
When Deng Jiazhu and Lu Changsheng arrived on the street, the crowd gathered outside the bookstore had gradually dispersed.
The subordinate stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Master Lu, General Lu!"
Where is the book?
"I am ashamed to say that all the books inside had already been looted when I arrived."
Just then, Wu Xingwang walked over from the opposite side, laughing heartily.
"Patriarch Deng, it's been a long time!"
"Mr. Wu, what brings you here?"
"After finishing my business, I was just about to visit your residence when the gatekeeper told me you had arrived, so I hurried over."
As he spoke, Wu Xingwang instructed Wu Peng, who was standing behind him, to present the gifts he was carrying. “Patriarch Deng, this is a gift from City Lord Lin. I hope you will not find it offensive and will accept it with a smile!”
"Mr. Wu, you've come all this way, why did you bring a gift?" the Deng family head said with a smile.
"This was specially instructed by City Lord Lin to be given to Patriarch Deng and General Lu. It is a rare ancient book she collected. Although it is a reprint, the paper and ink used are of the highest quality."
"Lord Lin is too kind! Mr. Wu, it's rare for you to have time to come. Why don't we go to Zuixianlou for a chat?"
"Then I, Wu, will respectfully comply."
The head of the Deng family gestured for his servants to step forward and take the two gifts wrapped in oil paper that Wu Peng was holding.
The group entered Zuixianlou amidst laughter and conversation.
As soon as he sat down, Lu Changsheng began to subtly probe Longtan's opinion on the Dongyue Wang clan's northward march.
"Mr. Wu, I heard that Wang Tingshan, the former Grand Secretary of the Imperial Court, visited your Longtan Temple some time ago?"
"Yes, General Lu is well-informed; nothing escapes your notice," Wu Xingwang complimented.
The Deng family head and Lu Changsheng exchanged a glance, it seemed their guess was correct.
Head of the Deng family: "I heard that he is using the pretext of 'purging the court of corrupt officials' to prepare to march north?"
"Grand Secretary Wang has come to invite the two gentlemen of the Yun family to lead the army, saying that he will vindicate the Yun family after the mission is accomplished." Even though they are allies, Wu Xingwang doesn't hold back. He glances at the Deng family head, who is frowning in thought, and continues, "I wonder what the Deng family head thinks of the Wang family of Dongyue marching north?"
"What opinion could I possibly have? Spring is here, there are so many mouths to feed, and we don't even have a grain supply for this year yet. I don't have time to think about these things."
The head of the Deng family narrowed his eyes and chuckled self-deprecatingly, a glint of shrewdness shooting from his eyes. How could it be so easy to negotiate with a tiger?
“Going north is not such an easy thing,” Lu Changsheng said slowly.
Wu Xingwang paused, adopting a humble and inquiring manner, "May I ask what General Lu means by this? Does General Lu also not think highly of the Eastern Yue royal family's northern expedition?"
Lu Changsheng cautiously gave the guard outside the door a look, and the guard quickly left. The three of them quietly drank their tea without saying a word.
A moment later, the guard knocked three times on the door.
The guards reported that the surrounding area was safe, and Lu Changsheng cleared his throat.
"Lu was not optimistic. Geographically speaking, if one wanted to go north, one would either have to travel by water or cross mountains and valleys. Not only was the journey long, but there was also the possibility of encountering Hu people along the way. Hu people are tall and have a natural advantage in cavalry. One cannot outrun them, nor can one defeat them in battle. The future is bleak."
Leaving aside whether logistical supplies can keep up, how could the powerful families in various places not have this idea? And then what would they have to fight against them?
"Has Grand Secretary Wang arrived in Cangwu County?" Wu Xingwang asked.
The head of the Deng family shook his head. "We have no connection with the Wang family, so he naturally wouldn't visit us rashly."
"The Yu family of Nanzhou Prefecture has begun to recruit soldiers on a large scale."
"I heard that Patriarch Yu became unable to speak before the new year?"
"Exactly, otherwise we wouldn't have let Yang do such a foolish thing."
"The Yu family..."
The unspoken meaning of the Deng family head was self-evident, and the three raised their glasses, exchanged smiles, and
Nanzhou Prefecture
Perhaps due to the intimidation of Feng Yongyan, or perhaps because the Yu family had latched onto the powerful Wang family of Dongyue, a while ago, the Yu family's advisors withdrew from the Nanzhou government office.
When Yun Zhenchuan went to take over, he found that the government office had been emptied by the Yu family, the silver bureau and tax treasury were empty, the official documents in the registrar's office were piled up like mountains, the men's and women's prisons were full of prisoners, and cases from the previous two years had not been tried.
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