Princess Kunxing was a little girl, so how could she possibly have the strength he possessed? Furthermore, she was deeply in love with her husband, so she refused. She reluctantly accepted Zhao Xiaofei's offer and carried him to bed. The two maids, Jixiang Ruyi, were waiting outside the door, so they naturally knew what was going on inside. Every sound from inside made them blush.
Half an hour later, Princess Kunxing put her arm around Zhao Xiaofei and asked, "Prince Consort, why have you made friends with some ministers recently? You should avoid suspicion!"
"I'm not seeking an official position, I just want someone to take care of my business in the future. The treasury is empty. If I have some money, I can help my father-in-law. Otherwise, how can I help if I don't make some money?" Zhao Xiaofei said nonsense. The silver was not enough for him to send to Jiangnan!
Princess Kunxing was overjoyed when she heard this. She had never thought her husband would be so dedicated to the country. She happily said, "My husband, I've finally married the right man!" Then she offered Zhao Xiaofei a kiss.
Zhao Xiaofei thought to himself, "It's not that I won't help your family, it's just that now isn't the right time. I hope that when that day comes, you won't blame me for not saving your father. My ability is limited, and at most I can only protect half of your family's territory." "You want to unify the world, but I don't know if I can live to see that day."
In the afternoon, Zhao Xiaofei asked Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu to accompany him to Li Ruolian's home. This was to thank him for helping him kill those mercenaries last time. The Jinyiwei were restricted by Chongzhen and had no source of income. The current situation was somewhat difficult. Zhao Xiaofei had spent 10,000 taels on Li Ruolian to help him with his manpower and manpower. But it was just a business deal, and the two had no personal relationship.
I heard that Li Ruolian was an honest man, and even with the 10,000 taels of silver, he only wanted to make life better for his brothers. He didn't take a single tael. Historical records show that when Li Zicheng attacked the capital, he was summoned to guard the city gates. He fought to the death, refusing to surrender, and when the city finally fell, he committed suicide for his country.
Zhao Xiaofei naturally wanted to make friends with people like him; if they came with him to Nanjing, they could help him reorganize the Jinyiwei system. Upon arriving at the Li residence, Li Ruolian personally greeted him. Zhao Xiaofei saluted and said, "Thank you for your help a few days ago, sir. I've come today to express my gratitude for your assistance. This is just a small token of my respect!" With that, Xiao Wen presented the gift list. It wasn't much, just a mirror and a glass.
Li Ruolian took the gift list, glanced at it, and said, "Your Excellency is very polite! Last time, Your Excellency also helped my men out of their urgent need. Without that money, many of my men would have gone hungry!"
"Sir Li, in addition to thanking you for your help last time, I also have something I would like to ask for your help!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"What's the matter? Please tell me, Your Majesty! If I can do it, I will do my best to help!" said Li Ruolian.
"It's just a small matter! In my country of Nan'ao, there is a business called the Escort Agency, which is a bit like the Daxing Agency of the Ming Dynasty. However, the Escort Agency of Nan'ao is only responsible for escorting goods and money. So I don't know..." Zhao Xiaofei didn't finish his words, and Li Ruolian understood what Zhao Xiaofei meant.
"Your Highness! Have you come to the wrong place? This should be a matter of Shuntian Prefecture. To do this kind of business, you have to report personnel and weapons to the government offices in various places! This is a troublesome business, and Your Highness knows the current situation. There are many bandits on the road. If you encounter bandits, you will lose a lot of money in this business." Li Ruolian said enough for the sake of silver.
"I know! But I still know the principle that wealth and honor must be sought at the risk of danger! It's just that I have been in Daming for almost half a year, and I have no connections and no friends. If I only rely on the signboard of the Prince Consort's Mansion, I think few people will be interested. I guess when the letter is submitted to the yamen, it is not certain when the county magistrate will see it! So I plan to ask you, Lord Li, for cooperation. I will give you 30,000 taels of silver every year to subsidize the family expenses of my brothers." Zhao Xiaofei said.
Li Ruolian paced around the room and asked, "What can the Prince Consort do for me?"
"Official documents! Each place will have a Jinyiwei responsible for communicating with local government! Provide intelligence and tell where there are bandits along the route. There will be a general escort agency in the capital, and branches in other places. The branches must obey the orders of the general escort agency, and the silver will be issued by the general escort agency in the capital." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Your Highness, your Highness is so generous! How many stores do you plan to open? Where can the goods be transported?" Li Ruolian asked.
"50 families can go from the capital to Tianjin. From Tianjin to Jinan Prefecture, from Jinan Prefecture to Luzhou Prefecture, and from Luzhou Prefecture to Nanjing. The capital's escort team passes through every county, and the people from each county's escort agency must go to the border of Lin County to pick up the escort team to avoid being robbed." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Then, apart from the capital, how many bodyguards should each escort agency recruit?" Li Ruolian asked.
"Recruit 100 people in each place, and the Jinyiwei you sent out will be responsible for the recruitment. But I hope you can pick some honest people, and don't use tricks to eat up the vacancies!" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"It seems I've underestimated the Prince Consort's courage. This deal is huge. Without hundreds of thousands of taels, it won't work!" Li Ruolian was tempted. He wasn't doing this for himself, but for his brothers. The country was in dire straits, the treasury was empty, and the Emperor had restricted their movements. So many Jinyiwei officers were living a miserable life. Of course, those black-hearted Jinyiwei officers had many ways to make money. For example, their Jinyiwei commander, Luo Yangxing, often used intelligence provided by his subordinates to blackmail corrupt civil servants and military officers who lied about their military achievements.
"Thank you for your kind words, Lord Li! I made some money during the last plague in the capital, so I thought of the escort agency business, which is the most profitable in our country!" Zhao Xiaofei said with a smile.
"Okay! I agree to this matter, but the prince consort still needs to personally greet Lord Luo." Li Ruolian said.
"Of course I understand this!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Your Majesty! What is the name of this escort agency?" Li Ruolian asked.
"Zhenyuan Escort Agency!"
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