Gu Ran traveled all the way, and the first time he arrived in Capital City, he saw Father Pei. The place was not in the Grand Master's Mansion, but in another house.

She saluted first, "Pei Zhao has met the Grand Master."

"Are you finally willing to come back?" Grand Master Pei seemed serious, but he didn't have much anger after listening carefully. He knew how to let his daughter leave home freely, but he didn't expect her to spread her wings like a young eagle, becoming wilder and wilder.

Gu Ran's eyes were bright, the corners of his lips were slightly curved, and his smile was friendly but not intimate, "Father and Pei's family are here, how can I not come back."

Three years passed by, and it was enough to transform a cardamom girl who was pampered in a deep boudoir. After all the experience in the world, even the closest maid would not be able to recognize Pei Lanzhao in terms of appearance and temperament.

The young man's eyebrows are elegant and delicate, like Zhilan Yushu, with more depth and fearlessness, and a fearless sharp edge.

When hearing the news that Pei Lanzhao went to the Western Regions, Grand Master Pei, who had been in a high position for many years and remained calm in everything, changed his face.

The sky is high and the ground is cold in the Western Regions. After leaving the customs, you will also pass through Beidi, the powerful enemy of the Great Zhou Dynasty, as well as Turks, Tubo and other places. The journey can be described as full of dangers. Not to mention that she only brought a few people with her, even if she brought a thousand elite soldiers and armored guards, it was impossible to completely ensure safety.

After that, Grand Master Pei sent many people to search for him in private, and even ordered to the trusted generals in the frontier city's Protectorate.

Grand Master Pei didn't feel relieved until Gu Ran came back safe and sound. Just as he was about to send a letter to severely punish him, he learned about the sweaty BMW and Cotton.

Now Grand Master Pei didn't care about reprimanding his daughter, if it wasn't for him as a grand master of the first dynasty and still needed to sit in the center, Grand Master Pei would have rushed over to see it immediately.

Good horses are always extremely important and indispensable military supplies in this era, and they also greatly affect the victory or defeat of a war.

Take Taishi Pei at the beginning of his administration, when Beidi came in menacingly. In the end, because Taishi Pei strategized, he defeated the enemy with fewer victories and more surprises. He successfully deterred foreign countries from all over the world, and it became a highlight of his many achievements in his life.

But for Grand Master Pei, winning more with less and winning with odds is, to put it bluntly, a dangerous word.

If the Great Zhou had a strong army and strong national power at that time, would he still need to rely on his tricks to split Beidi and cause chaos in order to win the victory?

An important reason restricting the military affairs of the Great Zhou Dynasty was the scarcity of fine horses.

Since ancient times, the Central Plains has seldom produced good horses, otherwise there would be no such proverb about a thousand-mile horse.

The horse's carrying capacity and marching endurance are weak, which means that even if it wins a battle with a foreign race, it will be difficult to pursue. Therefore, the powerful foreign race often goes north to invade the frontier, and few Central Plains troops pursue north. It is not easy.

Both the northern and northwestern nomadic areas produced excellent horses, especially the horses from the Western Regions.

However, there are also smart people in the foreign tribes in the north. When they realized the importance of good horses to the military strength of the Central Plains regime, they agreed not to trade horses with the Central Plains. It also cut off the trade between the Central Plains and the Western Regions, preventing the high-quality horse breeds from the Western Regions from flowing into the Central Plains.

During the period of Emperor Taizong of the Great Zhou Dynasty, a businessman presented a hard-earned BMW from the Western Regions, and Emperor Taizong was overjoyed and bestowed a title and ten thousand gold.

It's a pity that there was only one horse at that time, and it may not be suitable for the climate and soil in the Central Plains. The BMW died of illness within half a year after being kept in the Yulin Garden, which made Emperor Taizong lament endlessly.

But this time, Gu Ran not only brought back a considerable number of hard-earned BMWs, but also learned the techniques of breeding good horses under the noses of the countries in the Western Regions.

How could this not make Grand Master Pei overjoyed.

Although he was extremely proud, Grand Master Pei still reprimanded his daughter with a straight face, "You have also read a lot of books, you should understand the reason why a gentleman should not stand under a dangerous wall."

Even though similar words were said no less than ten times in the letter to the border town, Grand Master Pei still couldn't help admonishing him severely when he saw the real person again. Taishi Pei still didn't want to part with the life and death of his own flesh and blood.

Gu Ran said with a sincere attitude of correcting his mistakes, "I made my father worry."

An old fox like Grand Master Pei who has stood in the court for many years can tell the sincerity of what she said at a glance, but it is not certain whether she can do it.

Grand Master Pei pondered, "After you come back this time, you can follow me."

This is not only to prevent her daughter from putting herself in a dangerous place, Grand Master Pei also wants to bring her by her side to teach herself.

Gu Ran blinked and asked, "What about my properties? How to deal with them?"

If the trip to the Western Regions was caused by Gu Ran running out of customs on a whim, then what she really did was engage in business to make a fortune.

Even this business was beyond Grand Master Pei's expectations. He thought it was just a small matter, and Gu Ran didn't even use the Pei family's money and shop property.With only the one hundred thousand taels of gold as the original capital, Jiang Nan rose rapidly in just three years.

Especially after opening up the trade in the Western Regions, they have reached a higher level, and the industries they operate have grown like snowballs, and they are not even inferior to the Yanling Liang family who have been wealthy for generations.

If he was alone, Gu Ran might still draw it slowly, boil the frog in warm water, and swallow the market. But with Grand Master Pei as his own father behind him as a backer, Gu Ran almost let go of his hands and feet and showed his ambitions.

Even Grand Master Pei felt that he had underestimated his daughter's business skills after reading the detailed reports of his subordinates.

Gu Ran just moved a few modern innovative marketing models, which is enough to make a splash. Women's clothes, jewelry, rouge and gouache, scholars' pens, inks, papers and inkstones, etc., which cannot make money, plus various capital operations, if they continue to Giving Gu Ran five to ten years of development is enough to launch an economic and trade war against small neighboring countries.

Even though he was aware of Gu Ran's huge net worth, Father Pei still said without hesitation, "Since you earned it, it naturally belongs to you and has nothing to do with the Pei family. If anyone dares to touch it, you can just chop off his claws."

Gu Ran smiled slightly. In ancient times, there was no such thing as private property for a woman. She obeyed her father at home, her husband when she married, and her son after her husband died. With a word from my father, it can be taken back to the Pei clan.

In the final analysis, Gu Ran dared to test it because of Father Pei's sincere love for her.

Then the father and daughter talked about good horses and cotton.

Most of the hard-earned BMWs that Gu Ran brought back a year ago were handed over to Grand Master Pei, leaving only four or five horses to test the technology of breeding good horses.

As the family of the fourth generation and the third lord, the Pei family had many horse farms outside the pass, as well as ancestral fields, which made it convenient for Gu Ran to breed good horses and grow cotton.

At that time, although didn't know whether the technology she had learned was true or not, and whether it could be used in the Central Plains to independently produce good horses and cotton, Grand Master Pei still gave her complete trust, let her do what she wanted, and even sent more A lot of people worked hard to protect the horse farm and fields where the experiment was carried out, and there was no sound of wind.

Now is the time to present the results.

"Is what the master said true?"

Even the emperor Li Jingling got down from the dragon chair in surprise. The bloody BMWs in the Tianshan Mountains of the Western Regions and the horse breeding technology, and the cotton in the Gaochang Kingdom sound so unbelievable.

But as the emperor of a country, he will never be ignorant of the importance of these two things, which can be regarded as a sharp weapon for the country.

Grand Master Pei said in the hall, "The first batch of cotton has matured, and half of it has been sewn into cotton clothes and quilts and sent to Capital City."

When Gu Ran came to Beijing, there were some artisans and farmers who were involved in planting cotton, especially those who cultivated war horses. They were also strictly guarded and protected. The former was naturally used for promotion, while the latter was a court secret.

Hubu Shangshu also came forward and said, "Your Majesty, the cotton clothes are indeed effective in keeping out the cold, and they can be used not only for civilians, but also for the army to comfort the soldiers at the border in winter."

Even the emperor heard people say that the border gate was so cold that even stones could crack, and many soldiers died of frostbite every year.

Not to mention the high-quality horse breed breeding technology passed down from the Western Regions. You must know that the only way Da Zhou wants to obtain good horses is through mutual markets, donations, and wars. Not to mention the waste of people and money in the war, the former two northern aliens strictly controlled the quantity, and even gave away good horses that had been castrated, so as not to let Da Zhou take advantage of it.

In the barracks of the Great Zhou, there were always fewer good horses than soldiers.

But once Da Zhou could imitate the Western Regions and cultivate his own good horses, he would no longer have to be controlled by others in this regard.

Maybe he can expand the territory in his dynasty and complete the unfinished business of Emperor Taizong.

The more Emperor Li Jingling thought about it, the more excited he became, and he was overjoyed, "Who made such a great achievement? I will reward him heavily."

Grand Master Pei said leisurely, "This person's name is Pei Zhao, and he is a nephew of our clan. He went out with a caravan from the Western Regions last year, and by chance, he brought these back. .”

As soon as these words came out, all the officials paid attention, even the emperor couldn't help being stunned when he heard that the people of Grand Master Pei's clan had made the credit.

It is a coincidence, but when you think about the heavy blockade of alien races in the north, the Gobi Desert in the Western Regions, sand bandits, thieves, snakes, rats and ants, how dangerous it is, and even the most common business travelers are close to death. How extraordinary is the resourcefulness and skill of the person who brings back the precious thing.

Immediately, a courtier said, "Your Majesty, the Pei family has such talents, and they deserve a great reward."

"Yes, cotton can win the hearts of the people all over the world, and a good horse is very important to our great Zhou war. Such a feat, even if it is a marquis, it is not an exaggeration."

The official who spoke came from Taishi Pei's school.

The corners of the emperor's eyes twitched. He had just heard that Mian Mian and the good horses were very happy. Da Zhou's titles were divided into five ranks, and Duke Bo Zinan, now he has reached the second rank. , the emperor couldn't help feeling complicated.

Speaking of which, Li Jingling couldn't help but feel sour. Taishi Pei has a high position and authority. Not only does he hold power in the world, but even talents are under his sect, and his influence spreads all over the government and the public.

For example, three years ago, Xie Yuanchen, the champion of the new discipline, made great achievements in the reform of the tax system as soon as he entered the imperial court. He is a rare top talent. His own forces in the court, even specially selected from poor families, but unfortunately all of them added up can't compare with one Xie Yuanchen.

Now there is not only one Xie Yuanchen, but also such a powerful young descendant from the Pei clan.

"Will this be too high?" The emperor asked tentatively, "From what Grand Master Pei said, Pei Zhao is still young, so you might as well slow down the lord and give him money and silk."

Another person bluntly said, "There was a precedent in the reign of Emperor Taizong. In the thirty-ninth year of Wentai, a businessman presented a bloody horse, and Taizong named it Qing'anbo. Now Pei Zhao has brought me more than a thousand years It is a hard-earned horse, but there will be tens of thousands, even countless good horses in the future, no less than the victories of several important battles, and the contribution of cotton, which is worthy of the Marquis .”

Although it coincided with the 60th birthday of Emperor Taizong at that time, in the eyes of Taizong, who was very happy in his later years, the blood-sweat horse was more important than thousands of other auspicious gifts, so it is not surprising that Longyan was so generously rewarded. But after all, there are precedents for lessons. The current emperor is also after Emperor Taizong, so it is not good to go against his behavior.

Grand Master Pei didn't say anything, but it didn't mean he didn't want Pei Zhao to be named Marquis. His selflessness was one aspect, and the credit that really belonged to Pei Zhao would not be erased by others.

"It's better for the ministers to arrange the matter of good horses and cotton, and then discuss how to reward them heavily." The emperor finally ended the court meeting with these words.

………

"Congratulations to Taishi Pei, the Pei family has such a young talent, and there will be successors."

After the court, all the ministers took the initiative to come to Taishi Pei's side and congratulated him again and again. "You can make such great achievements at such a young age, you are really a young hero."

Taishi Pei smiled and said nothing, and accepted everyone's praises.

In fact, if the person who made such a great contribution was not the nephew of Grand Master Pei, although he would definitely be rewarded heavily, it would definitely not be the one that is almost popularly expected to be conferred with the title of Marquis, and there are many people in the court who are icing on the cake.

Even officials with other intentions would not refute in public, lest they become enemies with Grand Master Pei.

The best end for the officials who were put on by Taishi Pei is to go to Qiongzhou to eat dirt.

It's just that Zuo Xiangxiang couldn't help sighing, he thought that the descendants of the Pei family were all useless, even Grand Master Pei's two direct sons were not good for anything, they spent their days idle around, eating and waiting to die under the protection of Grand Master Pei. After a hundred years from Grand Master Pei, the decline of the Pei family will become a foregone conclusion, and their families will also replace the Pei family as the number one noble in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

It was never expected that there would be another talent in the Pei clan, with such meritorious service at such a young age, and with Grand Master Pei taking care of him, his success in the imperial court would be just around the corner.

On the other side, after the political affairs ended, Emperor Li Jingling returned to the harem, and the servant next to him asked, "Your Majesty, you promised Concubine Yao that you will have dinner with her in her palace today."

Li Jingling wanted to nod subconsciously at first, but when he remembered what had happened in the court hall, he suddenly changed his mind and said, "It's better to go to the Queen's Weiyang Palace. Tell someone to go to the imperial concubine, and I will go to see her later."

Empress Su finally finished the Qing practice and prayed for blessings and returned to the palace two years ago.

However, her life in the palace is not peaceful. The power in the harem has long been firmly controlled by high-ranking concubines, and it is difficult to regain it. Moreover, the fourth concubine Guishu Xiande is still eyeing her position as queen. Empress Su suffered many times and finally went through the gate of hell to give birth to a prince, but she was also lingering in bed because of this.

Li Jingling was the first to confer the crown prince on this son from the first line, and in the eyes of others, he was affectionate, but in the past six months, he was either caught in the cold or fell into the water, and he almost died several times.

Ever since Empress Su gave birth to the prince, the Weiyang Palace has always been filled with the smell of medicine.

Empress Su is lingering on the sick bed, and the emperor can not only visit her often, but it is also inconvenient to stay in Weiyang Palace. Concubine Yao Gui and Yu Zhaoyi were the most favored in the palace in the past year, one was the daughter of the Prime Minister of the Left, and the other was the daughter of the royal family.

It happened that the family behind them had no clear relationship with Su Mu's forced suicide case, but it was the official power in the court second only to Taishi Pei.

Empress Su didn't blame the emperor for his attitude, but her heart gradually turned cold.

Now hearing that Li Jingling came to Weiyang Palace once in a while, and talked to her about the court affairs, but he could only pour bitterness on her and show his fear of Grand Master Pei. But he couldn't say these words to other concubines, otherwise it would be passed to Grand Master Pei's ears immediately.

After all, the civil and military officials in the court are still headed by Grand Master Pei.

Li Jingling frowned and sighed, "The Pei family not only has Grand Master Pei, but now there is another son of the Pei family who can be named as a prince..."

Empress Su smiled wryly in her heart, and said lightly, "Your Majesty, do you regret not having Napei's daughters in the palace?"

Li Jingling choked on these words, paused and said, "Zitong is overthinking."

As for whether this thought flashed in his mind, the emperor would not say it.

In the past three years, have been constrained by all parties in the previous dynasty. Grand Master Pei has to look over and give advice on major events in the world. He is like a mascot sitting on a dragon chair. In addition, the affairs of the harem have also drained too much of Li Jingling's mind and energy. .

Although Empress Su is gentle, intelligent and tough, she can't suppress the high-ranking concubines in the harem who have a strong family background and have many ties to the previous dynasty.

Emperor Li Jingling also regretted it a bit. At the beginning, he resisted in every possible way to allow Grand Master Pei's daughter to enter the palace. If Pei's daughter was in the harem, not only would he be able to suppress other concubines, but it would also prevent him from being so jealous of Grand Master Pei and the Pei family.

Now it is impossible to do this anymore. heard that the daughter of the Pei family has been recuperating in the Hedong family for several years, and she has not improved. She has not been brought back to Capital City, and it is impossible for Li Jingling to propose to let her enter.The words of the palace.

Now Pei Zhao can be said to have become famous all over the world.

Born as a nephew of the same clan as Grand Master Pei, his parents died and he had no brothers or sisters. Although he had never participated in the scientific examination seriously, and was in business because of his poor family background, he brought back the precious horse breeding technology through business in the Western Regions outside the customs. There is cotton, and these two merits alone are enough for the imperial court to confer officials on him.

So no matter how depressed Li Jingling was, this reward still had to be finalized.

However, he took advantage of his tricks. Although he agreed to the matter of being a marquis discussed by the ministers, he suppressed the appointment of Pei Zhao on the grounds that he was still young. He had a title but no actual official position.

Grand Master Pei didn't care about the emperor's little thought, it didn't hurt him.

Because not long after, Taishi Pei asked Pei Zhao to be his official document. As a grandmaster in charge of the Zhongshu Office, Taishi Pei could recruit officials by himself, otherwise he would not attract talents from all over the world, and he would have three thousand clean staff.

And Pei Zhao has the title of marquis, but he is only a small clerk. It seems that his status has been lowered, but the meaning is deep and unspeakable. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Grand Master Pei wants to take this young man by his side and teach him carefully, as a family member. cultivated.

Before he reached the age of weak crown, he was granted the title of Marquis because of his contribution to the country, and he was also valued by Grand Master Pei. This future is really bright.

The imperial court gave a lot of money and silk, but the mansion where Pei Zhao lived was arranged by Grand Master Pei alone, and others would understand when they thought about his relationship with Grand Master Pei.

When many people in Capital City wanted to get in touch with or pay a visit to this newly released Young Master Pei, they learned that he was not at the residence and had already gone to the Grand Master's residence.

………

Inner courtyard of Taishi Mansion,

Mrs. Pei has already learned from Grand Master Pei that this nephew of the Pei family will come to visit, and she also heard that the other party has made great achievements and was taken care of by Grand Master Pei, and even helped him become a marquis in the court, treating a nephew in the clan better than her own children , Mrs. Pei was inevitably a little unhappy.

But since the other party came to visit and was a member of the Pei clan, a marquis appointed by the imperial court, Mrs. Pei would not be too cold-faced and disrespectful, as an elder, she just needs to treat guests decently.

"Pei Zhao has met the Grand Master, Mrs. Pei."

When the seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy stood in the hall, elegant and clear, bowing and saluting like clouds and flowing water, it made people happy at first sight, Madam Pei's attitude couldn't help but changed a lot,

"You don't need to call me Mrs. Pei, just call me auntie." Mrs. Pei smiled very kindly, and asked him about his past family affairs. He is still used to living in Beijing. If you need anything, just come to her. It was even more pity to hear that he was alone.

Grand Master Pei made perfect use of Pei Zhao's identity, and Gu Ran also responded fluently, but in front of Mrs. Pei, when he said that his parents were dead and had no relatives and no reason, he couldn't help feeling guilty, and glanced at Grand Master Pei out of the corner of his eye, sitting upright and motionless.

Gu Ran couldn't help but secretly sighed, as expected of a majestic grand master, he was cruel enough to himself.

Everyone also had lunch together. After the whole visit, Mrs. Pei was unexpectedly close to Gu Ran, and they enjoyed themselves happily.

And then Mrs. Pei frowned in private, and said to Grand Master Pei, "Why do I feel that he looks familiar, and I can't tell how close I like him in my heart."

Xu Shi's blood is thicker than water, and he was born in October. Even though his gender, appearance and temperament have changed drastically, Mrs. Pei still can't help but have a good impression of Pei Zhao.

"Although he has produced five suits, his grandfather was also a direct branch of the Pei family, and his blood is close to mine. It is not surprising that you look similar."

Grand Master Pei easily fooled Mrs. Pei, and Pei Dalang and Pei Erlang didn't realize at all that this young talent who had just been enshrined for meritorious service was none other than their younger sister Pei Lanzhao.

And because Grand Master Pei clearly showed that he valued Pei Zhao, their attitudes were also very friendly and kind.

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