Chapter 2: The Fu Family of Lingzhou

  Lingzhou is a large county with a population of over 10,000 households. In Beidi Prefecture and even the entire Liangzhou, it is very famous. Its scale is comparable to that of Fuping, the seat of Beidi Prefecture, and its governance is far better than Fuping by several streets.

  This is the ancestral home of Fu.

  Due to its peaceful and safe environment, the place has become increasingly prosperous year by year. Whether they are merchants or common people, they all come here to do business, and some even detour hundreds of miles for this purpose.

  Li Zheng had one hand grasping the reins and tucked into his sleeve, while the other hand pressed against the hilt of the knife at his waist. He gazed at the city gate not far away, where everything was in order, and felt a slight sense of regret in his heart.

  If it weren't for the sights and experiences along the way, as well as the encounters of being killed repeatedly, the scene before my eyes wouldn't be anything special. But any matter is afraid of comparison, only with comparison can we know what's good or bad. The chaos in other places sets off the peace here, making Lingzhou seem like a crane standing out from the flock, giving off a dazzling and lofty feeling.

  Naturally, towards Fu who had brought all this about, Li Zhong's heart slightly stirred up some good feelings.

  Fu's ancestral home is just east of the city.

  Zhang Shan rubbed his hands together and said, "Lingzhou has been here a few times."

  Li Ding nodded. Having someone experienced by his side naturally saved him a lot of trouble.

  "Go into town."

  Having spoken, he led his horse and grasped his sword, walking slowly towards the city gate.

  "Into the city?" Zhang Shan was somewhat perplexed: "Aren't we looking for the Fus? What's the point of going into the city?"

  Li Zheng turned back with a smile: "Creating momentum."

  "Hype?"

  Zhang Shan was full of confusion.

  Li Zhong didn't explain either. Just like that world, any product on the market must be heavily hyped and its influence maximized to the fullest extent. Bad ones are blown up as good ones, ordinary ones as masterpieces.

  At least give Fu's family some 'opponents' and create a competitive situation, so that they can sell at a good price, right?

  Besides, Li Zhong's horse is one of a kind in the world!

  It's too undervalued to be delivered to the door - Li Zhensheng believes that the initiative should always be in his own hands.

  Every city of some size has a special place for business and trade. Zhang Shan said it's called "market". Li Jing thought about it for a moment, roughly the same meaning as "pawnshop".

  The formation of a guild is either due to the needs of business activities, where businessmen spontaneously gather together, or it is specially established by the government.

  Lingzhou's Huajun, was also a spontaneous gathering of merchants at the earliest, later by Fu's family came forward, officially recognized, plus the harmonious environment here is different from most other places, eventually formed the largest trading market in the northeastern part of Liangzhou.

  Merchants, commoners, and foreigners, all sorts of people linger here. Furs, medicinal materials, cattle, sheep, horses, the characteristic goods of the northwest region of the Great Han Dynasty, can all be found here.

  After entering the city, they rushed to the inn and started their momentum trip.

  In this era of impending chaos, especially in a place like Liangzhou where barbarians and Han Chinese cohabited, any powerful clans or aristocratic families with even the slightest influence would build fortified strongholds, standing in opposition to the city walls as a means of self-defense.

  Located in the east of the city, Fushi Wengbao is grand in scale, with all five internal organs intact, it's a miniature version of the city. The height and thickness of the walls of this fortress even surpass those of Lingzhou City.

  On the city wall, all kinds of defensive equipment are available, and from time to time, there are teams of armored soldiers patrolling back and forth. The atmosphere is not tense, but it's not slack either.

  At this time, the sound of horseshoes came from afar and quickly rushed towards Wengbao, attracting the attention of the patrolling guards on the city wall.

  "What a person!"

  "It's him, Niu Ge!"

  The hoofbeats drew near, but it turned out to be a thirty-year-old tall and stout man.

  "It turned out to be Zhou Fei's doing! You're not around to take care of things, what are you doing back at the Wu Fortress?"

  "There is something important to report."

  "Open the door."

  Entering the courtyard, Zhou Fei dismounted and handed the reins to a waiting groom, his stout body moving swiftly as he rushed towards the main house.

  In the back hall of the main house of Wubao, there were five people discussing and arguing at this time.

  These five men were elders of the Fu clan, two of whom were of the same generation as Fu Xi, and three of whom were of his father's generation.

  The old man sitting at the top had white hair and a solemn face, but he didn't say anything. The debaters were several old men on both sides.

  "Should Nam Yong be brought back?"

  The old man on the left frowned and said, "Now Han Sui's power is great, he killed Bian Zhang and Bei Gong Bo Yu, with an army of 100,000 men, advancing to pressure Han Yang. That Governor Ge Bi is also a muddle-headed person, it's hard to protect..."

  "Third Uncle, you're well aware of Nan Gong's temperament! At this critical moment, how can you let him ignore morality and abandon the people of Hanyang, willingly returning instead?"

  "Or shall we organize our family's troops and go to Hanyang to provide assistance?"

  "It's not good, the surrounding areas of Lingzhou have Xiongnu tribes, and to the north there are also various Xianbei tribes. If we mobilize our tribal troops, I'm afraid our family business will be in danger!"

  The rest of them also looked worried and couldn't come up with a decision.

  "Alright."

  The old man at the top said in a low voice, "Nan Rong is my Fu family's Qilin child. Over the years, my Fu family can take today's step without Nan Rong. But Nan Rong's temperament, you all know, will not return even if summoned. We must think of a way to satisfy both sides!"

  The old man paused, pondered for a moment, and said: "To make Nan Rong leave the precarious Han Yang, we can't just say it, we need an imperial edict! Why not send someone to Luoyang, make some arrangements, and have Nan Rong transferred away from Han Yang!"

  "Great goodness!"

  Upon hearing this, the other four people's eyes lit up at the same time, and they all thought that he was indeed a capable master of the house, and truly had his ways.

  "But... at first Nan Yong offended Zhao Zhong, a eunuch, and was afraid that this eunuch would play tricks on him!"

  "Yes, Nan Yongzheng made great contributions by suppressing the Yellow Turbans, but it wasn't until this year that he was promoted. And yet, he's still stuck in this precarious position in Hanyang, all because of that eunuch's meddling, who has it in for Nan and wants him dead!"

  "Eunuchs may be powerful, but they can't cover the entire sky. The General-in-Chief He Jin and Grand Tutor Yuan Shu might be of some help!"

  Just then, an attendant reported from outside the door.

  "Announce to all elders of various tribes, Zhou Fei, the manager of the Zongpu affairs, has an important matter to report!"

  The five clan elders immediately fell silent, and the eldest elder slowly spoke up: "You go bring Zhou Fei here."

  "Ah!"

  The servant's footsteps faded away, and in an instant, the sound of chaotic footsteps grew louder and closer from afar.

  "Zou Jian wants to see you, Master Zhou!"

  "Come in."

  Zhou Fei pushed open the door and entered the hall, immediately bowing his head and clasping his hands in greeting, saying: "Zhou Fei pays respects to all the elder clansmen."

  "Hmm." The last elderly man sitting on the left nodded and said, "Zhou Fei, you weren't watching the horses, what are you doing back here now?"

  "Returning to the matter at hand," Zhou Fei slightly straightened his back and said, "Something big has happened in the village, we need to request an audience with all of you elder clansmen."

  "What's up?"

  Upon hearing this, several elderly family members furrowed their brows. Places like the Zhū Jiǎn were indeed necessary for aristocratic families, but they looked down on them. What major issues could arise from such a place that would require the elderly to resolve?

  So several elders in the clan were not very happy and felt that Zhou Fei was not worthy of great use.

  Zhou Fei observed their words and expressions, but he wasn't nervous at all. Because he knew that what was going to be said next would definitely shock several of the elder tribesmen.

  "Report back to the elder of the tribe: a dragon horse has appeared in the village!"

  "Long Ma... what did you say? Long Ma?!"

  Upon hearing this, several elderly tribesmen's faces quickly turned surprised, then returned to being calm.

  The old man at the top finally spoke up: "What's going on?"

  "The old master, this morning at the hour of Si, two wandering knights brought a horse that looked like an inferior horse with a hemp cloth wrapped around its neck to sell in the market. The two men's tone was very arrogant, causing ridicule from the merchants and common people. But unexpectedly, after one of them pulled off the hemp cloth, there was a circle of scales on the horse's neck!"

  Zhou Fei paused for a moment, seeing that the five clan elders were all leaning in to listen, and then continued: "Some people suspected that this horse's scales were man-made, but after personally touching and inspecting it, they found it to be true! Those two also claimed that this horse was still young, so its frame wasn't apparent yet, and there was still a lot of room for growth. That's why everyone calls it the 'Dragon Horse'!"

  "There were merchants who offered up to thirty gold, but the two of them remained unmoved. However, it's hard to guarantee that there won't be someone who offers an even higher price. Being humble and not daring to take the initiative to buy the horse himself, he immediately rushed back to the manor to see the clan elder."

  After hearing Zhou Fei's words, the five clan elders looked at each other and saw a look of surprise in each other's eyes!

  The old master of the house suppressed the joy in his heart and said, "Zhou Fei, you go to the front hall first, we will discuss it for a while before making a decision."

  "Ah."

  After Zhou Fei left, the clan elder couldn't wait to clap his hands and laugh loudly: "Haha... Heaven is helping my Fu family! Old master, if Long Ma is real, offering it to the Emperor will surely get an imperial decree, transferring us out of Nan Rong!"

  "That's right!"

  "Hmm." The old master nodded slightly and said, "So, what price do you think is suitable?"

  "...", upon hearing this, the other four people all paused for a moment.

  "Some people have offered thirty gold coins but the deal has yet to be made, I suppose those two also know the value of Long Ma. In my opinion, why not offer one hundred gold coins instead?"

  "Perhaps a hundred gold coins can't move his heart. I think it's better to summon him to the castle and negotiate in person, which will also avoid some trouble."

  "This statement makes sense."

  "In that case." The old master decreed: "Let Zhou Fei go and invite these two people to Yanbao Fort."

  Zhou Fei received the order from the clan elder and didn't dare to be slow, immediately left the fort and rode into the city, found Li Zheng and Zhang Shan who were surrounded by many merchants, and issued an invitation.

  It was said that it was invited by Fu's family, and the surrounding businessmen could only retreat. Li Zhēn was delighted in his heart, thinking that he had hooked a big fish. Zhang Shan was somewhat surprised, not expecting Li Zhēn to actually attract Fu's strong attention.

  Besides being surprised, Zhang Shan also became happy. With Li Zhong's promise of a high salary, there shouldn't be any problems now.