In Shengzhou City, Du Zhongxiao walked out of the door, stretched his body and mind, feeling comfortable. It has been three days since he returned from the Western Regions, and his body has truly recovered and no longer felt tired. Thousands of miles, even half of the railways have made people physically and mentally exhausted.

It was mid-April, and the flowers were competing for development, the best time of the year in Shengzhou. Now there are more people in the city, and many people from all walks of life, going out of the city to enjoy flowers and play, just like the time in Kaifeng Prefecture.

A peach tree in the yard also bloomed at this time, as bright as the morning glow.

Xiaoqing came out of the kitchen and said to Du Zhongxiao: "Officials, the food is ready, and I will have a meal later. Today there is a big fish, which is so fragrant and beautiful that it is braised. Officials can drink some wine. When they go thousands of miles away from the Western Regions, they must be very tired."

Du Zhongxiao said: "I took a few days off after I came back, and today I'm much better. Speaking of it, I have been here for more than three years, and it's time to go back to the court. Although Hequ is good, it's still impossible to compare with the colorful Central Plains. In a few days, you go home first, clean up with your husband, and prepare to go to Kaifeng Prefecture."

Xiaoqing said: "Does the official go to the capital to become an official after his post? Our house is close to Kaifeng, and I have been there several times before."

Du Zhongxiao said: "The capital is prosperous and lively, how can it be compared to Linying's small town? When the order is delivered, you will go home quickly and go to the capital with your wife to rent a house. I heard that the house in the capital is not cheap and you can't rent it at any time."

Xiaoqing said: "The family has made a lot of money in the past few years. The wife is not a stingy person. How could she not have a house? The officials are at ease."

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "You don't know that in recent years, the imperial court has added many officials. There are more people in the capital than before, so of course the houses have become difficult to rent. There are no more places than other places, and there are not many official rooms."

Xiaoqing came to serve the dishes, and Du Zhongxiao was drinking and eating dishes while discussing life in the capital with Xiaoqing.

The imperial decree of the court has not yet arrived, and Du Zhongxiao probably should be soon. Leaving Hequ Road, he must have to work in the middle of the capital, otherwise he would not be able to face all officials. But what should he do in the capital? Du Zhongxiao can't figure it out now. In theory, he should be the prime minister. With Du Zhongxiao's military achievements, it would be too low to not be the prime minister. However, Du Zhongxiao did not serve as an official in the capital, and his qualifications were incomplete, and it was difficult to do the prime minister. Or, like those emperors and nobles, he was considered half an idle position as a member of the group of shepherds. But this was the case, and he could not face the public.

If you can't think of it, don't think about it, just think about how you live in the capital. Since you were admitted to the imperial examination more than ten years ago, Du Zhongxiao has been an official in the local area for more than ten years. From a young magistrate to now, he is in charge of the army, and he can be said to be in the sky and underground. Especially in the past three years, it has become too fast, and suddenly his status in Beijing is not easy to determine.

After dinner, Du Zhongxiao said to Xiaoqing: "More than three years ago, I suddenly went north from Suizhou, and I don't know what my family looks like. In the past three years, I have defeated the Khitan, defeated Dangxiang, and pacified the Western Regions. I don't know how many major things I did, and my wife knew or not."

Xiaoqing smiled and said, "There are often people talking about the affairs of officials in the city. It is said that there has not been such great contributions since the founding of the country. How could the wife not know? Before I came to Hequ, there was a talker in the city."

Du Zhongxiao smiled and said, "Who is talking, so many things! I don't know whether it's good or not."

Xiaoqing said: "Every time there is a talk about the gentleman and the wife will take us to see it. Some say good things, and some are bad."

Du Zhongxiao smiled, said a few more gossips, and asked the soldiers to call Chen Xiliang and others to come and take a look at him. Shengzhou is now a big city, and everything is complicated. Du Zhongxiao has been away for nearly a year and needs to have more contact with the officials of Mu Cao to understand the new changes.

Soon after, the officials arrived, and Du Zhongxiao said, "You are nearly a year away from Shengzhou. You are tired. Today is nothing. Let's go to the city to take a look, and find a restaurant to drink a glass of wine. You can tell me what's going on in the city."

Everyone said that they had left the Shuai Mansion with Du Zhongxiao. The lively place in Shengzhou City was nothing more than around the shopping mall.

After walking all the way, Du Zhongxiao saw that it was much more lively than before he left, and said, "The Western Regions were pacified, but I didn't expect that it would be lively here."

Chen Xiliang said: "The railway has already reached Gaochang. Now Hu merchants in the Western Regions come by train, so they save travel expenses and make the journey easier. There will be more goods in the Western Regions at once, and they will naturally be prosperous."

Du Zhongxiao nodded and asked, "Where is the Hu Shang in the past? If they become like this, they will also be affected."

Dai Zhuang said: "That's natural. In the past, when I walked on the Beijing Road, I had to go through a familiar journey, so who dared to do business? Now they are all in the imperial court, and there are railways connected, and there are many merchants. The prices of goods from Gaochang suddenly dropped. Many of the inns and freight yards around the mall are merchants from Central China, buying and selling goods from Western Regions from here. Because they have too much commercial tax in Shengzhou, they are now self-sufficient."

Speaking of this, Chen Xiliang said: "There is another point, because there are too many merchants and the price is cheaper, Hu Shang's business is not as good as before. A few days ago, Hu Shang Jinsan, the largest few days ago, found the prefectural yamen and asked if he could do business in the Central Plains. Because the commander of the Jieshou had not returned, the subordinate asked him to wait."

Du Zhongxiao said: "You can refuse him now. Speaking of which, the Western Regions are now under the rule of the imperial court, and some of these people may not be Hu Shang. However, it will take a few years for the Western Regions to be normal before they can be allowed to do business in the mainland. At that time, the Hu Shang commerce that came outside was concentrated in Gaochang, and those in Shengzhou were all from their own country."

After the Battle of the Western Regions, the original Hu merchants of Jin San changed their identities, no longer Hu merchants, but Song dynasties. However, everyone is not familiar with the habits that have been continued for a long time, so they will still maintain the original state and wait. If the business road is opened, the real Hu merchants do not have to come to Shengzhou, they just need to go to Gaochang. As the center of the Western Regions, this is also his role.

Jin San’s biggest reliance was actually that he was in the Hei Khan business network, which could organize the supply of goods. Gaochang was destroyed, and the number of merchants transporting goods to the Central Plains suddenly increased. Jin San was not greatly affected. However, the cheaper goods and rapid profits were reduced, which was what he was anxious about. Now a large amount of goods from the Western Regions were transported to the Central Plains by railway, and the transaction scale was much larger than before. He took a fancy to this piece of fat meat.

Chen Xiliang said: "Now that railways are open, merchants can transport goods through trains, and the goods are much cheaper. However, it is precisely because of the railways that there are more goods sold. In fact, most merchants have increased their business. However, there are always some merchants who cannot continue to do it because they have new merchants joining and complaining."

Du Zhongxiao said: "There were naturally unsustainable businessmen in the past, and they would be even more powerful in the future. Now that they occupy the Western Regions, the mall has not yet opened there. When the mall purchases and sells goods, a large number of merchants must change, otherwise they will not be able to survive. The times are different, and I still want to do business like before. How can I not eat the old and not change the past?"

Dai Zhuang said: "This is indeed the reason. However, I heard that the Western Regions will set up a new road, and I don't know how to open a shopping mall in the future."

Du Zhongxiao said: "The division of various routes was the first thing that could not be done on Jingxi Road. Now there are too many shopping malls, and the whole world should be unified in the future. This matter will not take long and it should be done soon. After all, it is too troublesome to purchase and sell shopping malls, and it is not easy to separate them. This is not a difficult task, but the imperial court issued an edict."
Chapter completed!