Chapter 21 Ginger is old and spicy

Cao Rui looked at Sun Shao, who suddenly became like a scoundrel in the market. He was speechless and could only smile bitterly. Sun Shao said solemnly with a straight face, "Why don't you give me face?"

"How dare you?" Cao Rui hurriedly said, "The elder has a gift, and I dare not resign."

"It's almost the same." Sun Shao didn't care whether Cao Rui was willing or not. He put his arms around Cao Rui's shoulder and said affectionately, "Let me tell you, of course, the women of our big man are not bad, but those women with family backgrounds regard themselves as personal things. This is ruthless, the unwilling, the poor woman, and she is also eager to please you. It is obviously unhappy. It's a fake name, but it's those exotic women, um, interesting, no stimulation..."

Sun Shao chattered endlessly. Finally, he looked at Cao Rui, who couldn't laugh or cry, but he frowned and reached out to pinch his shoulder: "Oh, Yuan Zhong, you are so thin, can you stand those exotic women? If you can't have more sons, like Cao Gong, there will be a lot of descendants, then the throne of the King of Wei is not suitable for you.

Cao Rui's face turned red. There was really no way for him to talk nonsense. He didn't dare to scold, but he didn't know how to respond. When he heard the last sentence, he was shocked. Cao Qian gave birth to 25 sons, and Cao Pi also gave birth to nine. In the understanding of the Han people, strong fertility is to some extent a sign of fate. If you can't give birth to a son, there will be a phenomenon like the end of the Han Dynasty, which often indicates that a dynasty is close. This is something that Cao Rui dares not admit, such as Guo Sun Shao came to Cao Wei and said that this boy was not good by day, so he was afraid that his position of Taisun, who was about to come true, would be ruined again.

"Your Highness laughed, laughed." Cao Rui no longer dared to refuse. Knowing that Sun Shao might send two secret agents to him, he could only accept it and talk about it.

"Well, I'll send someone to send it to you in a couple of days, and then I'll ask them about your ability." Sun Shao said half-truly, "This is not what I mean alone."

Cao Rui was shocked and looked at Sun Shao suspiciously. He didn't dare to refuse. He nodded repeatedly, and then ran away nervously.

After teasing Cao Rui, Sun Shao was in a good mood. He went downstairs and returned to the post hall. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Quintus with a happy face. He was stunned for a moment and remembered after a while: "Quentus, why are you here? Come and talk about business with the king of Wei?"

Quintus shook his head quickly and said, "I, Rome, only do business with Yue, not Wei. I came from Temu City this time to see His Royal Highness.

"Why, the city of Rome is besieged? Did you come to my place of refuge? Sun Shao made a joke as he walked in.

"Not yet, but it's almost there." Quintus knew Sun Shao's temper and couldn't be serious with him. Sun Shao could joke with him, which showed that it was more beneficial not to treat him as an outsider.

"Who is so bad that he wants to besiege the city of Rome?" Sun Shao pretended to smile angrily and said, "Don't he know that my big man and Rome are friends?"

"It's Aldahir, the king of Sassan." Quintus followed Sun Shao into the house and sat down, told the situation of Rome, and finally emphasized that the Sassanids were building ships and preparing to compete with Vietnam for maritime hegemony. All he knew was a little news, but on the way here, he thought about it carefully and felt that only this was it possible to really ask Yue Guo to help, so when he told Sun Shao, the conjecture became certain. The source of the news was the prisoners of war between the two sides, which made people have to believe it.

Sun Shao is also a little suspicious. He also knows something about the fact that the Sassanids want to ship. Zhou Kun's detectives arranged in Taixi Fengcheng have found that there are many shipbuilding craftsmen in Taixi Fengcheng, but the point is not certain. After all, Taixi Fengli There are tens of thousands of miles in Vietnam, and the Han and Sassanids are simply two different races. They can be separated at a glance. Most of the people in the spy camp are at the lower level. Although there is a chance to enter the mansion of high-ranking officials to perform, who talks about confidential things sometimes have kabuki, and obviously not the Kabuki of the local people are present?

In contrast, the news obtained by the Romans from the prisoners' mouths was more accurate.

Sun Shao put away his smile, showing unhappiness and a little anger. After the establishment of the Sassan Empire, he did not show any hostility. He specially sent Jiang Gan to Taixi to visit him with a gift. He conveyed goodwill and asked for trade. The two sides had a good conversation. Aldahir was very satisfied with the goodwill from the far east and agreed to do business with the Han Dynasty. He has been getting along very politely in the past few years. The messengers came. It used to be more frequent and harmonious. Sun Shao did not think that Ardahir would be ready to deal with the Han Dynasty, but on the one hand, the two sides were so far apart that there was no direct conflict at all. On the other hand, Ardahir claimed that he was a posthumous man of Persia, wanted to inherit the will of the Persians, and die with the Romans to the end. He felt that he would not use force with the Han Dynasty in the short term. Unexpectedly, Arda Hill actually had this plan.

Is it really because the Han people dominated the maritime commercial road? Sun Shao thought of the sentence Cao Wei reminded him.

Quintus looked at the doubts in Sun Shao's eyes and was extremely nervous, but he hid his feelings very well. He looked at Sun Shao with a sincere face and said, "I come with the sincerity of Rome and am willing to deal with the unfaithful Sassanians with Your Highness. Please give Rome this honor and make it great. Rome and the great Han Dynasty joined hands to teach this ignorant Persian.

Sun Shao was happy: "It's a must. If you don't teach him a lesson, he thinks he is the first in the world. Do you think your emperor and the empress dowager are going to teach him a lesson?

Quintus was overjoyed, but he didn't dare to take it lightly. After all, although Sun Shao made a statement, he didn't say anything about the actual conditions. He quickly said, "Alexander and Momia want to meet the king and discuss cooperation face to face."

"Meet?" Sun Shao frowned. It's really critical for Rome to say so. Otherwise, they wouldn't have proposed such a grand thing as a meeting. The Yue sailors have to go to the Red Sea once or two times a year. The Romans want to contact the Han sailors. As long as they get his permission, they can meet the escorting general directly. Why do they have to do this? High-level meeting?

Sun Shao took the opportunity to drink tea to meditate. His poor historical knowledge did not know where the crisis in Rome was at this time. In comparison, most of his understanding of Rome still came from the collection of Zhou Wei and others, but Zhou Jing gave him news at least three or four months ago, if not a relationship. The news of the vital interests of Vietnam may even be a year ago. It is almost impossible for him to know the real situation in Rome now.

"This matter is too big. I have to think about it." Sun Shao raised his head and said politely to Quintus, "If you want, live with me and tell me the situation in Rome in detail, so that I can think about how to help you. As you know, if I only send a general to help you, I can still do it, and if I want to meet your emperor, there are not enough reasons for my ministers to agree.

Quintus nodded with understanding: "I am very clear about Your Highness's concern. To tell you the truth, when I proposed to invite Your Highness to Rome, our emperor and empress dowager thought that your Highness would definitely refuse. After all, this is too difficult. Now that you can give me a chance, I am very satisfied. If Your Highness is willing, I can tell your Highness everything about Rome in detail.

"Very good." Sun Shao smiled and said, "You must be tired after coming so far. Have a good rest first. Ye City is also a famous city of my Han Dynasty. There are also many businessmen from your Rome. You can enjoy the scenery of Ye City first, and then we will talk about it in detail.

Quintus withdrew with satisfaction, but Sun Shao did not move for a long time. He thought for a while and then sent someone to invite Xia Houhui. After Xia Houhui came to Yecheng with him, he went home with his newborn son Sun Cheng to meet his mother Cao. It has been 13 years since she married Sun Shao. She has never returned home once. Of course, she will have to stay for a few more days this time. Knowing that Sun Shao was going to discuss things with her, she did not dare to neglect it. She hurried back to the post house. Cao Shuang, her cousin, who was listening to her talk about the State of Yue, asked herself to drive her back to the post house. By the way, she met the King of Yue, who made Cao, the king of Wei, look at her differently.

Cao Shuang's character is Zhaobo, the son of Sima Cao Zhen. He is one year older than Xiahou Hui and the same age as Xiahou Xuan. Unlike Xiahou Xuan's Qing Gao, he is a very cautious person and has a good relationship with Cao Rui. This time, Sun Shao came to Ye City at the invitation of Cao Wei. Cao Zhen estimated that it might be related to whether Cao Rui could inherit the throne. He specially asked Cao Shuang and Xia Houhui to get closer and listen to some news. Now that he has the opportunity to meet Sun Shao, of course, he will not miss this opportunity.

Unlike Cao Shuang's initiative, Xia Houxuan disdained it. He had a bad relationship with Cao Rui. Cao Rui's wife Mao came from the Han family, and Xiahou Xuan said that his family was noble and did not want to make friends with Mao's younger brother Mao Zeng. Once when he entered the palace, Cao Rui asked Mao Zeng to sit with him, hoping to meet Xiahou Xuan, a talented man. As a result, Xiahou Xuan was very shameless. At that time, Cao Rui was very angry. From then on, he was very angry with Xiahou. Xuan is much estranged. From this perspective, Xia Houxuan should be more concerned about this matter than Cao Shuang, but he chose not to listen to it.

Seeing Cao Shuang, Sun Shao was quite surprised. Cao Shuang generously took the initiative to sign up and expressed his admiration. Sun Shao was very surprised when he heard it. In his impression, Cao Shuang could be said to be the culprit of burying Cao Wei. He was an incompetent person. However, looking at the young man in front of him who was not outstanding but calm, he could not get in touch with that kind of prodigal son anyway.

"It's Uncle Zhao." Sun Shao greeted him with a smile and chatted a few words. Xia Houhui reminded from the side that Cao Shuang and Cao Rui had a good relationship. Sun Shao immediately understood and said half-jokingly, "People are gathered by kind, and people are divided into groups. The State of Wei is really talented. In the future, it will be a strong opponent of our Yue."

Cao Shuang immediately understood and laughed with a smile: "Shuang only wishes to follow the king's tail, how dare he compete with the king?" Then he said a few more polite words and left happily.

Cao Shuang was sent away. Xia Houhui teased his son Sun Cheng and said, "Are you sure?"

Sun Shao nodded: "It's settled. Cao Rui said, "I've already answered that Mrs. Zhen wants to pick you up."

Xia Houhui nodded, but there was no happy expression. After a while, he said, "That's good."

Sun Shao didn't say anything. He knew what Xia Houhui meant. There was not only the pity of the State of Wei, but also the lack of a strong enemy in the State of Yue, but there was some loss on her face, and she didn't know where it came from.

"Brother and Cao Rui are not on good terms." Xia Houhui saw Sun Shao's puzzlement, so he smiled gently and explained, "He offended Cao Rui's wife and brother Mao Zeng. The relationship between the two was very stiff. Although Bo Zhao matched it, but... Alas, his brother's temper was too bad."

Sun Shao suddenly knew that Xiahou Xuan's temper knew that the Xiahou family had a noble family of origin. Although it had been defeated for a long time, when Xia Houxuan was born, his family had become a prominent family, which was no different from the Cao clan, and he himself was a smart person, especially good at metaphysics. Nature is expected. The Cao family has had a habit since Cao Qian. Most of the people who marry are from poor families. Now the Queen of Wei, the Bian family, is even an advocate of excellence. The Zhen family married by Cao Pi is a prisoner, and the Guo family is a criminal's family. It is not unusual for Cao Rui to marry a woman from a poor family. Xiahou Xuan, as a close minister of the Cao family, is indeed a little unhumane. However, again, the famous mouths of this era are famous for their inhumanity.

"If you really can't stay, just let him go with us." Sun Shao waved his hand indifferently. There were many such people in the State of Yue, but they were rather stroverted. Among the four countries, that is, the Xuanfeng of the State of Wei was more serious, and the other three countries were not so serious, especially the State of Yue, which was more down-to-earth, and those who spoke empty words were not very popular. However, with Xiahou Hui covering him, it is no problem for Xiahou Xuan to be a talker for the rest of his life.

"Alas." Xia Houhui couldn't think of a better way, so he had to respond. However, in this way, the relationship between their family and the State of Wei was even more distant. I don't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing for her son Sun Cheng.

"What happened to call my concubine back in such a hurry?" Xia Houhui remembered the business.

Sun Shao said the meaning of Quintus.

Xiahou Hui Liu frowned: "Sasan is thousands of miles away, and it will take two or three months to sail with the wind. It is not easy to launch a large army expedition. Besides, although our sailors are very strong, as soon as we go ashore, the deterrent power will be greatly reduced, and it is impossible to pose a threat to Sassan. On the contrary, it is possible to lose soldiers and humiliate ourselves.

Sun Shao sighed: "It's not that I haven't thought about it, but Cao Gong's words reminded me that we broke Sashan's way of wealth, and it was also expected that Sashan would deal with us. Rome is by their side, and he dares to secretly prepare to deal with us. If he destroys Rome, will it be okay?

"It's not that easy." Xia Houhui shook his head with a smile: "Hundreds of years since the founding of Rome, the hundred-foot worm is still stiff despite its death. The newly established country of Sasanne is very sharp. It doesn't know how to recuperate and accumulate strength, but it often dispatches troops. In my opinion, it is not a long-term way. You don't have to worry about it.

"But Quintus was in such a hurry to come and invited me to meet their emperor. If it hadn't been for the time of survival, he wouldn't have been so out of his temper." Sun Shao said in a murmur, "Rome is still the same as my great man. It is common for them to change emperors. Once they change an emperor who is good friends with Sassan, our business will be greatly affected. The Han business group easily attracted the attention of the family. Once the business fails, these people will make trouble in China. At that time, this good situation will be in vain, and the development of our country will inevitably be affected. Alas, you can't take it lightly."

Xia Houhui frowned slightly and stared at Sun Shao for a moment: "Your Majesty, I don't think Quintus's words may be credible. Let people check it carefully so that they won't be used by the Romans."

"It's reasonable. I do have such a worry." Sun Shao nodded: "However, we still have to be prepared. Taking advantage of the opportunity in Ye City, I want to understand the mentality of these families. By the way, the Zhen family is also a major shareholder in the business group. You can find an opportunity to explore Mrs. Zhen's mouth.

"I know."

... "It seems that I am a crow." After listening to Sun Shao's overview of the situation in Rome, Cao Qian couldn't help laughing. There was a sense of complacency and cunning in his eyes. He looked at Sun Shao, who was a little worried, and joked, "You think the merchant is angry and powerful, and now you will be dragged down by the businessman. It's also a retribution."

Sun Shao glanced at him angrily: "Lord Cao, don't worry, if something really happens, I'll sell the merchants of Zhu Cao, the Marquis of Xia, the Bian family and the Zhen family first. Let's see if you can be so happy."

"Hey hey, the merchants of the Cao and the Marquis of Xia are not Han merchants?" Cao Yan was not in a hurry at all. He lay comfortably on his favorite sandalwood lounge chair, shaking leisurely and stroking the handrail that had been rubbed by him. "I can do this kind of thing, but you can't do it."

"And." Sun Shao curled his lips helplessly and lay on the lounge chair, looking at the eaves and looking at the blue sky.

"Don't worry!" Seeing that he was worried and had no interest at all, Cao Jian comforted him, "Even if the Sassanians defeated Rome, what could he do to you?" He doesn't want spices, tea, silk, or our porcelain? As long as he wants it, there is nothing he can do about you. In the end, he has to talk to you about business.

"I also know this truth, but after all, it is most beneficial for us that someone rushes to buy it. If there is only one left, he can only buy it from me, but I can only sell it to him. How can the price be raised?" Sun Shao sighed, "I'm short of money now. I have to spend money everywhere. I'm pointing to these businesses to feed those people."

"Even if you fight, you are not afraid of him." Cao Wei suddenly said, "Don't you have a thunderbolt? When the time comes, won't all the problems be solved?

The corners of Sun Shao's mouth trembled. Just as he was about to smile bitterly, he suddenly woke up and subconsciously looked at Cao Hen with the afterglow of his eyes. It happened that Cao Hen also looked at him. As soon as he met his eyes, he dodged and immediately got out of the way. All this was a change in an instant. If Sun Shao hadn't reacted quickly, it would have almost revealed the truth. Zhen Tianlei is still an experimental product. It's okay to scare people. If you really take it out and use it, it's definitely a loss. Maybe Cao Qian, an old ghost, also saw something wrong, so he took this opportunity to test him.

"It's also a good way." Sun Shao's words turned around and said with a bad smile, "But the thunder is too expensive. I have to take back the capital first. After going back this time, I began to increase taxes. When did I make enough money and when did I go to clean up the Sassanians?

"Ji Zi, running a car full of mouth, there is no truth." Cao smiled and scolded. After Sun Shao took out the steam engine and cooperated, the application scope of the steam engine has been greatly expanded, and more people have participated in the improvement and development. The development speed of the steam engine has been greatly accelerated. At present, the steam engine has developed to the third generation, and has made great progress in power and stability, and has been made in inland river transportation and short-distance navigation. It has been applied. Xuanwu College has a branch specializing in training steam engine maintenance technicians. They paved a stone path around Xuanwu Pool and pulled a carriage around the lake with a steam engine for the entertainment of the royal family and relevant nobles. At the same time, it was also used to test the improved steam engine. Because the steam engine runs a lot of steam, it is commonly known as a car. Of course, this kind of car is not the same as the car in Sun Shao's impression, and it is not the same as the train, but in general, it is also an innovation.

"Duke Cao, do you think I should meet the Roman emperor?" Sun Shao asked again, but at this moment, he was no longer as worried as before. At least on the surface, he could not let Cao see his guilty heart. After all, with the strength of Yue in other people's minds, he had no reason to worry about the Sassanians thousands of miles away.

"You can go." Cao said slowly, "When we met the Roman emperor with a vassal king of the Han Dynasty, we won a move first. However, I have two things to remind you. First, don't go to Rome. It's too shameless. You should choose one that is almost far away for both sides. If possible, it's best to let him come to Vietnam. Second, don't trust them all. You should interact with the Sassanids at the same time. No matter what the Sassanids have, we can make a better profit from it. Whether Sassan defeated Rome or Rome defeated Sassan, it's better for us to let them both lose.

Sun Shao was surprised and paused for a moment before saying, "Mr. Cao, sure enough, Jiang is still old and spicy. Your profit is the real fierce move."

"Each other, if I don't say it, can't you think of it?" Cao Jian said calmly, "You kings and ministers of Yue are much more insidious than me. This kind of trick that harms others is expected." He paused for a moment and said, "Fengxian, how about I support you a few more?"

"Who?" Sun Shao smiled and said, "The talent that Cao Gong like must be a great talent."

"It's natural to be talented." Cao Qian pinched his forehead: "Actually, I also hesitated for a long time and was reluctant to give it to you, but yesterday I had a dream, which made me make up my mind to let him go to Vietnam, so as not to delay his future."

Sun Shao is very curious. Who makes Cao Qian care so much that he still has to dream and make up his mind?

(to be continued)