Chapter 90 Cooperation between 3 companies

Chapter 90 Cooperation between 3 companies

Chapter 90 Three Cooperation
The next morning, Xiao Xia rode to Qiyun Inn to look for Li Min.

Li Min lived in Building 25 of Qiyun Inn, while Chai Shao and his wife still lived in Building 22, where they had stayed the last time they came to Jiangdu.

Xiao Xia rode slowly on the winding mountain road. At this time, a guard stepped forward and saluted, saying, "Master Xiao, my master wants to see you!"

Xiao Xia looked up and saw Chai Shao and his wife Li Ping standing on the terrace waving at him. A smile appeared on his face, he dismounted, handed the reins to the guards, and quickly walked up the stairs.

Chai Shao and his wife were already waiting at the gate to greet Xiao Xia.

"Little brother, we meet again." Li Ping was still as cheerful as ever.

"Hey! Why does elder sister look younger than last time?" Xiao Xia pretended to be surprised.

Li Ping laughed so hard that her body shook. She reached out and punched her husband twice. "Look how good this young man is at talking. When have you ever praised me for being young?"

Chai Shao gave a bitter smile and quickly invited Xiao Xia into the house. At this time, someone stood up in the lobby. It was Li Min, who looked at Xiao Xia with a smile.

"Ah! Brother Li Min is here too."

Li Min smiled slightly and said, "We are planning to visit your master tomorrow and see you while we're at it."

"Is there anything I can do for my master?"

"Sit down first, and talk slowly."

The four of them sat down and a maid came in and served tea.

After the maid left, Li Min slowly said, "We came to Jiangdu together this time for another reason. Do you know about the new dock?"

Xiao Xia nodded, "I've heard that there are only three spots for the business."

"Now there are five. The emperor has relaxed the restrictions and specified that two of them must be given to the South."

Xiao Xia said happily: "This is a good thing! Does our master know?"

Li Min shook her head. "He probably doesn't know. This is also the main purpose of our visit to him tomorrow. We want to cooperate with him and try to get a spot."

After a pause, Li Min smiled and said, "Actually, it was the three families, and your father. Your eldest brother's coming to Jiangdu was also related to this matter, but he couldn't contact your family head, so he asked me to discuss it together."

Xiao Xia immediately understood that Li Yuan was from the eldest princess's faction, and the eldest princess supported her father, so Li Yuan was actually from the Prince of Jin's faction.

Xiao Xia nodded, "I can talk to the head of the family, but how to divide the shares, do you have a plan?"

"Half and half, half for the Xiao family and half for the three of us."

"Okay! I'll tell the Patriarch tonight so he knows what's going on. You guys can go find him tomorrow."

Chai Shao beside him said slowly, "This time the emperor's inspection of Jiangdu has attracted the attention of the world. Many forces have poured into Jiangdu, not only the Chang'an faction and the Jiangdu local faction, but also other forces in Jiangnan, and even the Shandong forces of the former Qi State. They are all trying their best to get a piece of the pie. The situation in Jiangdu is very complicated now. Including the Qiyun Inn where we are staying, it is already full. There are unfamiliar faces everywhere, with accents from all over the world. Although Brother Xiao is a local snake, you still have to be careful."

Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and asked, "What is the background of the Liu family and the Chen family in Jiangdu?"

Li Min smiled slightly and said, "The backer of the Jiangdu Liu family is Qin Wang Yang Jun, but Qin Wang Yang Jun is relatively low-key, so the Jiangdu Liu family is also relatively low-key. However, the Liu family's two major industries, Guanyun Restaurant and Qiyun Inn, have been transferred to the Dugu family. It is very likely that the Liu family has clung to the Dugu family again.

Xiao Xia frowned slightly. That's not right! Didn't King Qin Yang Jun die a long time ago?

Xiao Xia's high school history teacher once told a story that said that the official record was that Qin Wang Yang Jun died of illness in the 20th year of Kaihuang, but saying that he died of illness was actually a cover-up.

Yang Jun should have died because of participating in the fight for the position of crown prince. In the 20th year of Kaihuang, that is, the year when Yang Yong was demoted and Yang Guang was canonized as crown prince, Yang Jun should have supported Yang Yong. After Yang Yong was demoted, Yang Jun was also given the death penalty.

Now that Yang Jun is not dead, Xiao Xia suddenly has an idea. Since Yang Guang did not become the crown prince, Yang Jun will definitely not die. History has completely taken a different path.

"What about the Chen family?" Xiao Xia asked again.

"The Chen family's backer is the Yuan family, and the daughter of the Yuan family is the Crown Princess, so the Chen family's real backer is the Crown Prince. However, the Yuan family is very ambitious. Not only do they want to occupy a spot for themselves, they also want to cooperate with the Chen family and get a share of the Chen family's pie."

After chatting for a while, Li Min stood up to go back, and Xiao Xia also stood up quickly. He came to see Li Min today.

At this time, Li Ping handed an envelope to Xiao Xia, "This is what I promised to give you last time. In addition, I want to tell you that your mother is not dead. She has become a Taoist priest in Qingcheng Mountain."

Of course Xiao Xia knew what was in it, the formula of the Spring Rain Pill. Ever since Xiao Xia knew that the method of refining the pill was the key, he was not very excited about the formula of the Spring Rain Pill.

Even if he knew the formula, it would be useless if he didn't know how to make it. Anyway, his mother was still alive. He could go to Qingcheng Mountain when he had time and ask her to make another batch for him. However, Xiao Xia was still moved by Li Ping's kindness. Li Ping was not just perfunctory.

Xiao Xia took the envelope and nodded, "Thank you, big sister. Thanks to your Turtle Breathing Pill, I succeeded in strengthening my essence last time."

Li Ping's eyes widened and she exclaimed, "I never thought that you would succeed in consolidating your essence. It seems that your talent is much higher than mine!"

Xiao Xia was confused. What did that mean? Didn't Li Ping succeed in consolidating her essence? Wasn't she a seventh-rank martial artist?
Xiao Xia couldn't figure it out, so he had to say goodbye with Li Min.

Walking into Li Min's inn, Xiao Xia asked with a smile, "What's your martial arts rank, Brother Li?"

"I passed the seventh level of martial arts, but now I can't do it anymore. I haven't taken medicine for several years, and I can't break through the barrier anymore."

"Brother Li doesn't have Gu Yuan?"

Li Min shook his head. "There are not many people in the world who can consolidate their inner strength. They all go to the exam after they reach the state of breaking barriers. Anyway, the examiner will not care whether you have inner strength or not. They will test you in three items: weightlifting, archery and horseback weapons. Then the examiner will assess your level based on your comprehensive performance."

Xiao Xia was a little confused. This was completely different from what Zhang Jue said!

"So, the martial arts exam has nothing to do with internal strength?"

Li Min laughed and said, "How can it not be related? With my physique, if I don't break the barrier, can I lift 350 kilograms? And horseback archery, without breaking the barrier, how can you hit nine out of ten arrows while running at high speed, and you have to be a hundred steps away? Unless you are a Hu person who grew up on horseback, ordinary Han people can't do it at all. It is only possible when you break the barrier."

"But many in the army claim to be skilled in archery and horse riding!"

Li Min shook his head and said, "Being proficient in archery and horse riding has two meanings. The first meaning is that you are proficient in both bow and horse riding. These are two compulsory items in the military internal examination. If you pass the test, you can say that you are proficient in archery and horse riding.

There is also another kind of archery and horsemanship that is quite powerful, which refers to being able to shoot while riding a horse, but being able to shoot while riding a horse and being able to hit nine out of ten arrows from a distance of 100 steps are two different things. "

Xiao Xia nodded, "I understand. Then why didn't Brother Li take the medicine?"

"It seems that Zhang Jue didn't tell you that taking medicine to break through the barrier is actually overdrawing your life span, so once the barrier is broken, you should take the exam immediately. If you pass the exam and become a martial arts master, you will be qualified to become a military general. Once you become a military general, you will start to enter the officialdom. Who would do such a stupid thing as taking medicine to shorten their life span?"

Li Min's words completely overturned Xiao Xia's cognition, but when he thought about it, it made sense. He had just started practicing martial arts, and Zhang Jue would certainly not tell him that taking medicine would shorten his life. Just like a teacher encourages students to study hard so that they can have a future, he would never tell students that having a good father is more important.

Li Min has a powerful mother-in-law, so of course he doesn't need to take medicine anymore.

But what about the many warriors without a background? Although they also obtained the sixth and seventh rank martial arts certification, they could not become generals or enter the officialdom. In the end, they could only work for the powerful. They knew that taking medicine would shorten their lifespan, but they had no choice but to survive.

"Brother Chai and his wife also don't have Gu Yuan?"

"nothing!"

Li Min shook her head. "They are going to start preparing to have a baby. They both stopped taking their medicine two months ago. Didn't you notice?"

No wonder both of them had no energy. Xiao Xia now had a deep understanding of internal strength.

This is why Xiao Hu refused to take part in the Three Xiaos’ Martial Arts Competition. He had long stopped taking medicine and lost his ability to break through obstacles.

This also explains why Shan Xiongying didn't find him hiding under the bed. It wasn't because he was careless, but because he was originally a fifth-grade cultivator, and his ability to perceive obstacles disappeared at night.

No wonder Yuan Shoucheng congratulated himself on being the phoenix reborn from the ashes, it turned out that being the ashes was so difficult.

Li Min smiled and said, "You are not here to discuss martial arts with me, are you?"

"of course not!"

Xiao Xia smiled and said, "I want to know when the emperor will come?"

"Soon, maybe in four or five days!"

Li Min glanced at him and smiled: "Why are you asking this? Did something unexpected happen?"

Xiao Xia nodded, "I met Yuan Shirong when I went back yesterday. He waited for me on purpose and wanted to make a deal with me."

Xiao Xia then told Li Min everything about his conversation with Yuan Shirong.

Li Min's face changed slightly, and after a while he said, "I got a piece of accurate information. The King of Han was assassinated two days ago. The assassin was Han Xianxian, the top prostitute of Jiangdu Zuihonglou. Now it seems that it was indeed planned by Wei Lihu."

(End of this chapter)