Datang: Huchi served as a bodyguard, but refused to enter the court as an official

The highest grade of eunuch is third grade, and Wynn is the only one.

Others, such as the deacons and eunuchs of Yeting Bureau and Gongyu Division, are mostly fourth or fifth rank.

But today's Liu Jin, although he is only a sixth-rank eunuch in charge, has the honor of always being around Li Er, and his status is not comparable to that of ordinary eunuchs.

It can be said that among the eunuchs in the palace, except for Wynn and a few deacon eunuchs, Liu Jin has the highest status!

Sitting in the hall, Liu Jin took a sip of tea, tasted it for a while, and then let out a sigh of satisfaction.

“Still at home”

Liu Bai smiled and said: "They are all eunuchs of the sixth rank Zhanggu, so is it possible that they still eat pig food all day long?"

He still remembered how Liu Jin went home last time, and the two of them had the same conversation.

Seeing that the dim sum on the plate was as hard as a rock, he didn't dislike it, and stuffed it into his mouth desperately.

"Young Master, we are thinking about our family! Don't think that your subordinates are quite good in the palace, but you have to be careful in everything. If you don't pay attention, you will be tricked by others!"

"Why don't you ask Cheng Qian to tell His Majesty to wait at home for a few days before going back to the palace?"

Liu Jin immediately beamed with joy.

"That's daring!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his smile froze.

"Forget it. Your Majesty just came back from Jiucheng Palace. There are too many things to do. If the subordinates are not here, Master Wynn may not be able to handle it all by himself."

"I was just about to ask you, what is Your Majesty going to do in Jiucheng Palace?"

Jiucheng Palace is located in the west of Tongshan Mountain, not far from Chang'an, it can be regarded as a summer palace.

If it was summer, it would be normal for Li Er to go to Jiucheng Palace, but in the middle of winter, it would be very strange.

Liu Jin took another sip of tea and said, "This subordinate is about to talk to the young master about this matter. This time, His Majesty went to Jiucheng Palace and met a monk in secret. I don't know exactly what they talked about. It's just that , Your Majesty seems to be very polite to that monk."

"Monk?"

When mentioning the monks of the Zhenguan Dynasty, Liu Bai was the first to think of Tang Xuanzang, who was learning Buddhist scriptures from the West!

Could it be that he was the monk Li Er secretly met with?

Liu Bai remembered that Xuanzang's journey to the west took place three years before Zhenguan, how could it be so long in advance?

He pondered for a moment, as if trying to understand something, he asked, "What book is Your Majesty reading recently?"

Liu Jin scratched her head. She didn't know why Liu Bai asked this question, but she answered honestly: "Your Majesty has never liked the Four Books and Five Classics. In recent days, he seems to like reading "Journey to the West" written by the young master."

"really!"

Liu Bai thought to himself.

In "Journey to the West", the part of going west to learn Buddhist scriptures takes up a lot of space. Liu Yexuan's storyteller has already talked about the part passing through the Flame Mountain.

Of course, Liu Bai did not put the background of the story in the Tang Dynasty, but changed a fictional era and changed the names of several characters.

Otherwise, there is a Tang Xuanzang in the story, and there is another Tang Xuanzang in reality, and even a fool can see something strange.

"It should be the story of going west to learn Buddhist scriptures, which reminded Li Er"

As the hero of a generation, Li Er certainly wouldn't pay attention to such a boring thing as "learning from scriptures".

There is only one purpose for him to find a great virtuous monk.

Manage the Western Regions!

There are many countries in the Western Regions, and they are powerful!

With the current national strength of the Tang Dynasty, it is still unable to support such a large-scale foreign war, but it is still necessary to send spies to investigate the situation of the countries in the Western Regions.

Ordinary spies cannot reveal their identities, and their actions are inevitably tied up.

But let Xuanzang, a virtuous and eminent monk, take the shot, it couldn't be more suitable.

His status is high enough, and he went to the Western Regions for the reason of obtaining the scriptures, and he might even be treated courteously by the royal family of the Western Regions!

Li Er must have been inspired by "Journey to the West" to meet Xuanzang in secret!

Let the virtuous and eminent monks go to be spies!

The more Liu Bai thought about it, the more he felt right.

Although Xuanzang in history went to the Western Regions with the intention of learning Buddhist scriptures, his "Da Tang Western Regions" did indeed play a huge role in the war against the Western Regions.

The corner of Liu Bai's mouth twitched, revealing an inscrutable smile.

Seeing this smile, Liu Jin's heart skipped a beat.

He has been following Liu Bai for a long time, as long as Liu Bai shows this kind of smile, it means that someone is going to be unlucky

Liu Jin mourned for the unlucky man for a few seconds, and said, "Young master, I won't stay here any longer, there is still a lot of mess waiting in the palace."

"Go, if you suffer in trouble in the palace, let Xiaoman come to the house to collect money!"

Liu Bai was extremely fortunate that Liu Jin had been arranged to be the palace attendant.

Otherwise, such an important matter as traveling west to learn scriptures, might be missed.

After sending Liu Jin away, he immediately went to the backyard and found Liu Wan'er.

The Tang Dynasty needed the Western Regions to expand the territory and resettle the population, but Liu Bai was thinking about another thing.

business!

The commercial road from Chang'an to the Western Regions has a well-known name in later generations.

Silk Road!

Porcelain, silk, and iron products in the Central Plains are not uncommon, and the more they are sold, the cheaper they are, but in the Western Regions, they have become high-end goods exclusively for princes and nobles.

Similarly, the wines, medicinal materials, spices and other things that are abundant in the Western Regions are also expensive in the Central Plains!

As long as this business channel is opened up, the profits are simply unimaginable!

Moreover, this is still an inexhaustible golden mountain that can be passed down forever!

How could Liu Bai let it go?

"How many caravans can be drawn out now?"

Liu Wan'er was sewing a winter coat, when she heard Liu Bai's words, she put down her needle and thread, and muttered, "Except for the caravan going to Youzhou, there are less than 300 people."

Liu Bai thought secretly for a moment, and estimated that 300 people would be about the same.

"After the Chinese New Year is over, don't arrange for the caravan to go to other places, I have other arrangements!"

Chapter 83: When the New Year Comes, Xuanzang Comes to Ask for Advice

In a blink of an eye, the 28th of the twelfth lunar month is here!

The matter of the Wang family seems to have disappeared, and it is unknown what kind of judgment will be made in the end.

Usually at this time, the officials are also on vacation, and no matter how big the case is, they will stop for a while and deal with it after the year.

Just after dawn in the morning, there was a happy scene in Liu's house from top to bottom.

Liu Rong'er was so busy that her feet didn't touch the ground, even Liu Wan'er was helping her with housework.

Shopkeepers, big and small, will come to pay New Year's greetings today, so naturally they have to treat them well.

After seeing off Cheng Chumo and Chai Lingwu, Liu Bai stretched comfortably.

Without these two demon kings in the world, the house can finally be a little cleaner.

Cheng Yaojin and Chai Shao were commanding the army abroad, the two young masters had to go home to preside over the New Year.

Li Chengqian was holding a stick, lying on the wintersweet in the yard, trying to poke the bird's nest on it.

Liu Bai pouted at Xu Chu, Xu Chu stepped forward and pulled Li Chengqian down.

"Your Majesty should call you back!" Liu Bai said helplessly.

The last time I came back from the eldest grandson's house, seeing Li Chengqian's appearance, I thought he was determined, worked hard, and kept his crown prince.

However, after only a few days, he revealed his true nature.

I don't know what Li Er thinks, the 28th of the twelfth lunar month is obviously a day of reunion, but he seems to have forgotten the eldest son.

Li Chengqian bared his teeth and smiled, "It's better for my father to forget about me. Every Chinese New Year, there are a lot of red tapes. I don't want to suffer this!"

Liu Bai didn't bother to take care of this guy anymore, so he told his servants to take care of Li Chengqian and not let him get into trouble, so he took Xu Chu to the backyard.

"Husband, the presents for the shopkeepers are all ready, and they are just gifts for the adults in the court"

Liu Wan'er rushed up to greet her and reminded Liu Bai, don't forget to give presents to the court ministers.

Liu Bai slapped his forehead.

Almost forgot about this!

"Where is Shen Wansan?"

"Shopkeeper Shen Da sent a letter saying that he will be back before the noon banquet!"

Liu Bai had already thought about it, and handed over this matter to Shen Wansan, and dealing with people was Shen Wansan's forte.

"When Shen Wansan comes back, ask him to find me!"

Before I knew it, the morning passed.

The shopkeepers of the Liu family from all over the place came to the door one after another. For a while, the Liu family mansion was very lively.

As a big merchant in Guanzhong, the Liu family's business covers all walks of life, especially after the Liu family annexed 28 large commercial firms in Jingyang, their business has doubled!

Today, there are hundreds of big shopkeepers who hold real power in their hands!

In the hall, hundreds of shopkeepers stood in several rows with their heads bowed.

Liu Bai was sitting in the center at the end of the hall, and the two sisters Liu Wan'er and Liu Rong'er were standing on the left and right.

Shen Wansan, who had just rushed home, gave an order, and everyone bowed and saluted together.

"I have seen the young master!"

This is the rule established by the old man of the Liu family when he was alive.

On the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, even the shopkeepers who are far away in Lingnan have to rush back to attend the annual meeting.

Doing so can not only improve the cohesion of the Liu family, but also demonstrate the authority of the head of the family.

They are not only the big shopkeepers of the Liu family, but in a certain sense, they are more like the generals of the princes and nobles, who have been loyal to the Liu family for generations.

Liu Bai raised his hand and pressed down, "Sit down!"

Everyone sat down one after another, waiting for Liu Bai to speak.

"You are all old people who follow my father. I won't talk nonsense. Today is the 28th of the twelfth lunar month. I hope you can enjoy yourself!"

All the shopkeepers applauded loudly.

The banquet is placed in the flower hall.

As the head of the family, Liu Bai had to toast at the table to reward these shopkeepers for their hard work over the past year.

After paying respects, Liu Bai handed everyone over to Shen Wansan for hospitality.

"It's really about getting distilled spirits out"

Liu Bai's alcohol capacity has always been good, and the alcohol content in the Tang Dynasty is not high, so there is no hint of intoxication in more than a dozen bowls of wine, regardless of whether it tastes good or not, but his stomach is a little unbearable.

He was about to sit down and eat a few bites of food when the concierge suddenly ran in and said with a strange face: "Master, there is a monk outside the door who wants to see you, look."

Li Chengqian was standing next to Liu Bai, he also took the opportunity to mix a few bowls of wine just now, his face was flushed from drinking now.

"Just drive away! It's really bad luck for those who come here for alms for the New Year's Eve!"

The concierge looked at Liu Bai with a troubled expression on his face.

During this period of time, there were always important people coming to the door, and he also practiced a bit of eyesight. Although the monk was not handsome, he had a bit of calm and majestic temperament, and he knew that he was not an ordinary person at a glance.

If it was an ordinary monk, he would have driven him away long ago, how could he come to bother Liu Bai?

"Monk?"

Liu Bai was taken aback for a moment, but immediately came to his senses.